


Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: From Allies to Lovers

by Kelblue_Fire18



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Eventual Fluff, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Gen, I'm laughing while I'm writing this, I'm thinking about writing some smut in it, maybe? - Freeform, this is the first time i'm writing this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2020-09-26 05:49:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 65
Words: 210,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20384707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kelblue_Fire18/pseuds/Kelblue_Fire18
Summary: Set in New York City, Mizuki, a young woman trained by a rebellion, joins the Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles in fighting off the malicious Baron Draxum and other villains, while focusing on her mission to save all of humanity.And on a side note: she is also falling for the brains of the team.





	1. Mystic Mayhem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recently, I've watched ROTTMNT and now, I've gone obsessed with it. I'm thinking about writing some more soon. 
> 
> With college starting soon, I'm probably going to be busy. But until then, see ya soon!
> 
> Note: chapter is edited.

A new day in New York like any other. Except it became strange for the people here. 

A small dog-like creature with a green vial around its neck ran through the pathway, avoiding people over him. Two large men with dogs in baby carriers chased after it, knocking over citizens, who yelled and groaned in annoyance. 

The creature jumped on a box full of flags and leaped off it, knocking it over in the process. The two men tried to not step on the top of the little flags and continued to chase it down. 

The dog-like animal then pounced on a delivery boy’s bike and jumped off past a customer. 

“Hey, watch it!” The delivery boy yelled. 

Before he could even give the order to the customer, the buff men knocked down both the delivery boy and the customer, not even saying an apology to them. 

“You gotta watch where you’re going, man!” The delivery boy shouted at them. 

The dog-like creature turned towards an alleyway but stopped short when it skidded near a dead end. 

“This way!” One of the men said. 

The creature spun around and saw that it was trapped. The two men slowly stalked towards it with evil grins and laughed darkly. It whined in fear and scooted away. 

However, a soft thud appeared behind the men. 

They both turned to find a slim figure dressed in red, black and dark grey armor, two small knapsacks on both sides. The figure only had a cloth covering the mouth, apart from the eyes, which narrowed at the two men. 

The creature saw its chance and instantly disappeared in a flash of blue. It then appeared a few meters behind the figure and ran off in a different direction. 

“Hey!” One of the buff men yelled, and both of them started after it again. 

The person was one step ahead of them. She grabbed the first one by the arm and twisted it, prompting him to yell in pain. She then crouched down and kicked him from underneath the feet. 

She grabbed the second by the arm as well and threw him over her shoulder with all her might, landing him on wooden boxes. 

The figure remembered about the creature and ran off to where it had run off to. 

*****

Later that night, at a formal party...

Four figures watch a shady deal from above the Molina Tower. They jumped from the very top and landed on the balcony in front of the sign. The turtle with a pair of goggles on his head pulled out his staff and aimed it at an unfinished building. 

The turtle shot it, a rope with a clinger catching one of the beams. He then connected the other end of the rope at the wall of the Molina Tower. 

“Yellow Submarine, are we clear?” The larger turtle with the red bandana spoke through the walkie-talkie. 

“Affirmative, Red Rover,” a female voice responded. 

“Copy. Right, boys,” the larger turtles glanced at the other ones. “It’s go time.”

The turtles then clipped themselves on the rope and shot themselves towards where the deal is happening. The larger turtle raised his fist to signal the others to follow his lead. 

They zoomed past the party above and headed for another building instead. One by one, the turtles released themselves from the line and dove towards the pool. 

“Cow...”

“A...”

“Bun...”

“Ga!” 

“Cannonball!” The brothers yelled as they made various poses before they hit the water. 

A large wave erupted from the turtles’ impact. 

April whooped as she recorded the event and got splashed from the wave the brothers made. Despite being drenched from the water that got splashed greatly out of the pool, she cheered in victory. 

The turtles cheered and jumped in victory. 

“You must be this rad to ride that ride,” Mikey commented and pointed at himself. 

“Uh, based on our velocity and entry angle, I concur,” Donnie said as he typed in the results on his arm device. “We rad.”

“You guys crushed it!” April cheered to the brothers. “Give me five! Or three.” 

The turtles jumped out of the pool and gave April ‘high threes’ and whooped excitedly. 

“We couldn’t have done it without you, April,” Raph grinned. “Our girl with the plan.”

“And keys to the roof,” Leo smirked and held out the keys he took from April’s jacket pocket. 

April smiled and took the keys from him. 

“Let’s go bungee dunk on the hoops at Rucker Park,” Mikey suggested, wrapping his arm around April’s neck. 

“Game on!” April accepted. “Just one thing first.”

“‘Wet Floor,’” she first put up a sign, which said ‘Wet Floor’. 

She then placed another sign, reading ‘Dry Pool’ near the pool. “And ‘Dry Pool’.”

“Our work here is done,” she proudly placed her hands on her hips. “Donnie, can I hitch a ride?”

“No probbles,” Donnie answered and turned around, pointing at his back. 

April hopped on his back. At her motion, a seat with handles appeared out of his techno shell, with floating devices underneath her. 

The brothers and April whooped and started to leap off the building towards their destination. 

*****

Meanwhile, the dog-cat animal stopped near a construction building as soon as it realized it lost its chasers. It sat on the dirt and whined in fear. 

Unbeknownst to the creature, it had been followed by its savior from earlier. 

The young figure jumped from above the building and landed softly where the creature is, who didn’t notice her at the moment. She slowly stood up from the ground and pulled off the cloth away from her face. 

The girl has light-dark blue hair wrapped in a long braid, leading down to her waist, large almond-shaped eyes, a small nose, and full lips. She has a golden locket around her neck, shining in the moonlight.

Her eyes landed on the vial around the dog-cat animal’s neck and gasped. 

“The vial,” she whispered. 

She slowly walked approached it and reached for the vial tied around its neck. 

The creature saw her, however, and growled at her. She gasped and stepped back cautiously. 

“I’m not here to hurt you,” she softly said. “I only want the vial, to protect it.”

She reached for it again more slowly. 

The dog-like creature growled and slashed her hand, leaving only a small gash. 

The girl yelped and protectively cradled her hand. She groaned and uncurled her other hand to find three little cuts on her hand. She stared back at the small animal and sighed in determination. 

She needs that vial. For the protection of the world. For mankind. 

Raph leaped off the roof behind his brothers and April, but when he looked to his side, something caught his eye. Two things, specifically. 

A small yellow creature with pointy ears and a young girl, it looked like, near a construction building. The girl seemed like she was trying to negotiate with it for something, while she was protecting her hand. She seems determined to get something from the animal. 

“Aww,” Raph’s eyes grew big when he saw the girl and creature. 

He unintentionally hit the wall as he was distracted with seeing the two figures and climbed up to catch his brothers’ and April’s attention. 

“Hey! Hey, guys, hold up,” he said and pointed at where the animal and girl are standing. “Poor thing looks lost. And looks like she’s trying to get something from it.”

He jumped from the wall and fell towards the creature and woman. 

Raph landed where the animal and girl are, who yelped in fright and saw the large turtle crouching towards them. 

The girl’s eyes widened in shock when she saw how big the turtle is. A red bandana around his head, a sharp tooth poking out the side of his mouth, his shell with spiky edges on top and his muscly figure crouching down at her and the creature. 

“Aw, hey, little guy. What ya doing here?” Raph cooed at the animal and made kissy noises. “Come to big Raphie.”

At that moment, Donnie, Leo, Mikey, and April landed near the larger turtle and watched him coo at the creature. They all chuckled at his attempts to communicate with it. 

“What? Pets love me, all right?” Raph glared at them then stared back at the little creature. “I am at one with the animals.”

The creature growled and scratched at his face before landing on top of his head. 

The blue-haired girl held back her laughter and onto her injured hand while trying to cover her mouth at the same moment. 

The creature then pounced at April, but instead of attacking her, it licked her face and purred. 

“Aww. I didn’t get this drenched from the cannonball,” she said and hugged it. 

“It looks so weird. What is it?” Mikey asked as he stared at it. 

“Maybe it’s some kind of nuclear St. Bernard,” Donnie took the vial around the animal’s neck and studied it. 

“No, it’s something else,” the blue-haired girl answered. 

The turtles and April turned to find her standing there with a serious expression and still holding her hand protectively. 

“That creature is the only one who possesses a weapon so powerful it will not only change all of mankind but also to control all as well.”

“How do you know?” Leo asked her. 

Donnie saw the small gash on the girl’s hand and his eyes widened. She noticed his concern and tried to cover it. 

“Your hand, it’s injured,” he stated. 

“It’s just a cut. I’ll be okay,” the girl replied, still holding her hand. 

He didn’t listen to her protest as he gently took it and examined it. The slashes are now bloody, coating her dark grey outfit with blood. 

“Did this cutie do this to you?” April asked. 

“Yes, but it only fights in defense,” the blue-haired girl nodded as Donnie started to heal her wound. “It has powerfully sharp claws, which explains why your friend here has scratches on him.” She gestured to Raph, who glared at her as she lightly grinned at him. 

“And who are you, anyway?” Mikey asked. “Are you a secret spy? A superhero? A secret superhero?”

“If you’re hoping that I’m one of those things, unfortunately, I’m not,” the girl answered and gestured towards the bottle around the animal’s neck. “But I desperately need that vial. It is capable of unleashing dangerous chemicals.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Time out. A vial full of chemicals?” Donnie finished wrapping a bandage around her hand. “What gave you the idea about that?”

She looked up at him to answer but stopped. Their eyes met for only a moment. She swore she can see a hint of sympathy from his orbs. But she shook it off. 

The girl sighed and stood up straight. “I am Mizuki. And even though I want to tell you the truth, I cannot tell you, for it will put everyone in inescapable danger.”

“Wait, what do you mean?” Raph asked her next. 

An angry scoff from a few meters away stopped the girl from answering. The brothers and women turned to find the same two men who chased the dog-like creature. 

“Humans!” Raph gasped. 

The turtles hid behind April and Mizuki, who looked at them in confusion. 

“Initiate plan H!” He whispered. 

Raph, Leo, and Mikey came out from behind the girls with smiles Mizuki could recognize as nerdy. 

“Um, excuse me, sirs,” Leo started.“Can you direct us to the local science fiction convention that we are currently dressed for?”

“Snazzy alien turtle outfits, huh?” Mikey said nasally. 

Donnie zoomed in next to April, who smiled nervously at the two men. “We are just typical, normal humans who got lost in the middle of our normal, everyday human lives. Nailed it.”

April, Mizuki, and the turtles stared at him deadpanned. 

“Dude, you gotta make it to rehearsal,” Leo whispered to him. 

“Give to me creature,” one of the men said in a Russian accent, stalking towards April. “How you say...Pretty please...or I’ll destroy you.”

Mizuki growled and stepped in front of April defensively. 

“Leave her and the creature alone,” she challenged the two men. “Your fight is with me only.”

“Really? You think you’re gonna step up to our friend? Rookie mistake, hoss,” Raph stood behind April and Mizuki. 

“And if you step to my friends for stepping to you for st-stepping to me? You’re gonna have to step to me. M’kay?” April sassed at the two men. 

“You do not intimidate us,” the Russian man growled. “With or without your fake nerd voices.”

“That was actually my real voice,” Donnie crossed his arms in front of his chest. 

“Well, you better get intimidated, ‘cause we’re like nothing you’ve ever seen,” Raph took a step forward, narrowing his eyes. 

“What’s wrong with my voice?” Donnie asked. 

“I don’t think you know who are dealing with here,” Mizuki whispered to the turtles. “They are more powerful and tough than you can imagine.”

“Huh, we ain’t afraid of them,” Mikey scoffed and smirked. “We can take on anything.”

The two men growled and their eyes glowed purple. Their bodies shifted from human figures, dark violet spots encircling their arms. 

The turtles gasped in horror as they watched the transformations take hold. 

“Jumping Jack Flash!” Raph cried. 

The two men disappeared, only to be replaced by dark purple muscular soldiers, riding on canine-like monsters as horses. They both wield spear swords, glowering at the turtles and women. 

“So...You guys from Jersey?” Leo placed his hands behind his back innocently. 

Donnie, Mikey, and Mizuki both looked at him deadpanned. “Really, Leo?”

“What, I can’t make a joke in the middle of the craziest thing ever? That’s how I cope,” Leo shrugged and rolled his eyes. 

“Whatever. This is our chance to finally use these babies,” Raph smirked and pulled out his small knives. “Weapons ahoy!” 

“We agreed to reserve “ahoy” for ship-based adventures, pal, please,” Donnie prepared his staff. 

Mikey and Leo pulled up their own weapons and grinned at the soldiers. 

Mizuki removed two fans from both her knapsacks on her sides, folding them open, and glared at the guards. 

“You need to move to a safe place, now,” she ordered April, who clutched the small creature. “It’s going to be a nasty fight.”

The guards urged their dogs forwards and charged at them with their weapons ready. 

Mizuki charged forward and threw her fan at one of the guards. They were unable to avoid it in time, nearly knocking him off his canine-like creature. The fan flew back to her hand and Mizuki caught it with ease. 

“Guys, I got this,” Donnie flipped his staff and pressed a button, revealing both ends to have rockets flaring in the ends. 

“Fibonacci!” He threw the staff at the soldiers, but it suddenly flew up towards the sky in different funny patterns. 

“Ah, no, n—oh, no, no. That’s so bad!” 

Mizuki turned her attention from her opponent and saw his staff in the air. She jumped off a medium-sized hill and climbed up a beam from a building. 

The small dog-like animal saw her and disappeared from April’s hands in a flash of bright blue. 

“Dog thingy!” April cried. 

The creature caught it and dropped it to Mizuki, who grabbed it in time and teleported back to April’s arms. Mizuki landed with ease next to Donnie and handed him his staff. 

“Here. Your weapon,” she said to him, whose mouth was dropped open at her amazing action. 

“Hey, it plays fetch!” He shook off his astonishment and gazed at the small creature. “And it teleports, which is—oh, my gosh, it teleports!” 

“The most incredible power its kind could have!” Mizuki stated. “They can travel up to a short distance temporarily!” 

One of the guards aimed his weapon at Donnie as it powered up and was about to shoot him. 

“Look out!” Mizuki shoved him out of the way just before a blast erupted from the sword. 

The aim missed Donnie and Mizuki in time, but at a pile of bricks, which exploded from the impact. 

Donnie looked up at Mizuki, who stared at him with relief. His cheeks turned red when he saw that she is over him on the ground.

“Uh—“ he started. 

“If you want to say thank you, don’t jinx it,” she cut him off and helped him off the ground. 

Meanwhile, Raph and Mikey tried to fight off one of the guards, while Leo had failed to fight off the other one without his swords since they were broken from the dog-creature’s powerful bite. Mikey and Raph also had their weapons destroyed in the process, the latter being chased by the dog-creature for a short minute before his knives were evaporated by the guard’s magic. 

The three turtles were placed in a pile over one another, groaning in pain from the hard fight. The guards growled and were about to eliminate them until one was hit by a brick. 

Donnie and Mizuki both turned to find April throwing bricks at the guards. 

“Hey, trash can and toaster boy!” April yelled. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave my friends...”

One of the soldiers raised his hand and formed a purple bubble around the small dog-like creature off of April’s arms. 

“Alone...” her voice trailed off. “What—“

She caught the orb that trapped it before it could even move towards the soldiers. The dog-cat animal tried to teleport out, but it proved useless. 

“Oh, no! It can’t teleport out of there! They cannot get the vial!” Mizuki cried to April. 

“No!” April yelled and was dragged while she tried to hold on to the orb. 

The guard took it and zapped April away, landing her near the three brothers. 

“I have the agent and the vial,” the guard said. 

He then turned towards a brick wall and made a motion with his free hand. A blue symbol that is shaped like a ‘M’ appeared at his command, disappearing and being replaced by a large mouth-like portal. 

“Whoa!” The turtles gasped. 

They heard a bicycle bell ringing and turned to find the delivery boy riding towards the portal.

“Sweet shortcut!” he exclaimed. 

“No! Wait!” Mizuki tried to warn him. 

“Wait! This isn’t a shortcut!” The delivery boy found out too late but fell through the portal, his screams echoing in the abyss. 

“Ahh! Good to know,” Mikey shrugged. 

Mizuki charged forward, her fans ready to attack. One of the other guards caught her off guard by creating an orb around her. She tried to get out with no avail, grunting with every attempt she had. 

“You won’t get away with this, do you understand?!” She yelled at them. 

The guard smirked and zapped her body. She yelled in pain as the shocks rippled through her, trying to stay awake as long as she can. Her eyelids became heavy against her will. 

“You...won’t...” Mizuki sighed before her head fell backward. 

“Mizuki!” Donnie cried. 

The small dog-creature whined when it saw Mizuki fall unconscious. The guards urged their canines forward to the portal, with Mizuki in tow in the orb-prison. 

“The dog thingy! Mizuki!” April yelled and followed after them. 

“Wait!” The turtles got up and ran after her. “April! No!” 

They were unable to catch up with her in time as she jumped through the gateway just before the portal closed. Raph only hit the wall and fell to the ground. 

“April!” He got up with a bump on his head. 

“I think she’s okay, ‘cause there’s no, like, April bits on the ground,” Leo said, checking the dirt. 

“Hey, April! Are your bits on the other side of the wall?” Raph checked on one side of the wall to find nothing there. 

“And not only has April gone through the portal, but they’ve also got Mizuki, too!” Mikey exclaimed in terror. 

“How do we get them out of there?” Raph asked. 

“And—equally important—where is there?” Donnie tried to not to panic internally. 

She had saved his life back there when the guard fired at him, she had gotten his staff back with the help from the dog-creature. He wanted to save her back after helping him and his brothers. 

Mikey saw the symbol on the wall and gasped. 

“Hey! I’ve seen this before!” He said, catching his brothers’ attention. “In fact, we all have. In Splinter’s do-not-touch cabinet.”

Donnie’s eyes lit up. They could use to not only get to April and the dog-cat creature but to also save Mizuki. 

*****

Darkness first welcomed her vision, followed by small bits of flashing lights. 

Mizuki groaned and slowly got up from the ground. She rubbed the back of her head as her vision became clearer. 

Her eyes shrunk when she realized where she is. 

“Oh, no...” she murmured. 

“Welcome to my laboratory,” a voice said. 

Yelping, she instantly turned around to find herself facing a figure with animalistic legs towering over her. She backed away against the wall of the prison and gasped when she recognized the mysterious monster. 

“Baron Draxum,” she gasped. 

“So, you have heard about me, I see,” he smirked evilly at her and walked towards her. “And I have heard about your team...Mystic Protector.”

He knelt to her level and saw the hidden fear in her eyes. “Tell me this. How long have you known fear of me? Over 10 years, perhaps?” 

“The creature. What have you done with it?!” Mizuki demanded. 

“Ah, yes. The agent,” Draxum nodded. 

He turned to look at his side, still smiling. Mizuki followed his gaze and gasped again. 

The small creature tried to teleport of its own prison, but a red-orange barrier prevented him from doing so. The delivery boy who fell through the portal back there, except a barrier didn’t cover the cage. 

“If you’re the guy that keeps calling about the calamari, fine,” the delivery boy said. “It’s pig butts! But the crab cakes are real!”

“I assure you, I have no interest in your petty cakes of crab,” Draxum replied to him. 

“But we would love to hear more about those pig butts,” one of the gargoyles said to him next. 

The delivery boy screamed in terror as the other gargoyle laughed. 

“I command you to release them immediately!” Mizuki demanded angrily. 

The two gargoyles glared at her and flew towards her in a flash. They scared her by gripping onto the cage and growling at her. 

“No one commands Baron Draxum what to do!” The one with the frog-like body and a cat head and tail yelled at her. 

“You will listen as he says!” The other with the same frog body and tapir head shouted. 

Draxum then walked over to where the dog-cat creature is imprisoned and took the vial from his neck. “So kind of you to return my vial.”

Mizuki’s heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. That vial was the only thing that could control all of mankind. And now she has lost it forever. 

“You are about to be part of an experiment that will change the nature of humanity,” Draxum went on, staring at the delivery boy. 

“All right!” The latter yelled unknowingly. 

“Oh, no...” Mizuki whispered. 

Draxum then approached a control panel leading to the large towering tube and poured the contents of the vial into a hole. The liquid traveled al the way up to the tube containing small misquotes and injected them with it. 

He took an oozequito which has already the poison and approached the delivery boy, who is lifted up from the prison by the vines. 

“So...is this gonna hurt?” He asked. 

“It will...if I’m doing it right,” Draxum answered. 

The oozequito landed on the delivery boy’s head and injected his forehead with the poison. It then flew away, leaving only a small red dot. 

“Hey, that wasn’t so—“ the delivery boy started, but cried in pain. “Okay, this part hurts.”

Mizuki crawled away in terror as she watched the mutation take place by force. She wanted to block out his cries of agony, even as she pressed her hands against her ears, but it was all impossible. 

She looked up and could not hold back her fearful cry as she saw a standing fish-thing creature letting out a gurgling scream and waving his arms around hastily. 

“Oh my God! What have you done?!” She shouted at Draxum. 

“I just got used to acne! Now this?!” The mutated creature, who Mizuki now recognize as the delivery boy, yelled. 

Mizuki screamed even louder, followed by the screaming delivery who ran out of the lab. The two gargoyles laughed at the running fish-creature and at her fear. 

“Should we go after him, boss?” One of them asked Draxum. 

“The mutation worked, just like it did all those years ago,” Draxum only answered and looked up to the machine. 

He then glanced at the dog-like creature and Mizuki. “I’ll deal with you two next.”

The small animal growled at him in anger, while Mizuki backed away scared. 

This is the first time she had been scared in years. They have told her to not let the fear get the best of her when they first started training her. But now, she had forgotten everything about being brave. 

Mizuki glanced down at the bandage Donnie had placed on her injured hand. Her eyes softened. 

‘Please let the purple turtle and his brothers be safe,’ she silently prayed. ‘Please let them be safe.’

A while later, the cat-headed poke a stick at the small dog-cat animal laughing, while the tapir-headed gargoyle repeatedly circled over Mizuki like a predator. 

She was not going to give to Draxum in fear. She was going to find a way out. Sooner or later. 

“Finally, after all these years, I can continue my work,” Draxum said as he looked at an oozesquito resting on his finger. 

Loud thuds appeared from a pipe above him. He looked up in confusion, as well as Mizuki and the dog-like creature. 

The turtles and April fell to the ground from the pipe, landing in a pile. 

“What?” Draxum said. 

“You came!” Mizuki and the small creature perked up. 

“All right, you incredibly, unusually buff bookworm, give us the little guy and the girl, and you’ll walk out of here with your horns still attached,” Raph ordered and pointed at Draxum, him and his brothers and April in their brave stances. 

“Shouldn’t we also stop him from creating crab-men?” Leo asked him. 

“Good note,” Raph nodded. “Okay, give us the little guy and the girl, stop creating crab-men—“

“Imitation crab-men,” Donnie added. 

April groaned in exasperation. 

“Okay, good note. Stop creating imitation crab-men…”

“And a ride home and a limo with a hot tub and pizza!” Mikey interrupted. 

Mizuki face-palmed herself in the forehead. 

The three other turtles started making crazy demands while Raph tried to threaten Draxum, who stared at them in amazement. 

“Raph, why don’t you take it from the top again?” Leo suggested. 

“Here we go. First, you apologize to the dog thingy and the girl—“ Raph started again. 

“Let’s do this!” April yelled and jumped to where the dog-like creature is trapped in. “April O’Neil!” 

“No, don’t!” Mizuki tried to warn her. 

The turtles panicked as they watch her land on the small prison. April then tried to rip the vines of the cage off, but she got carried off by the two gargoyles and was now fighting them off. 

Draxum pulled out a small purple ball and threw it down to the ground. Large vines shot out and moved towards the turtles.

They are able to dodge them in time and ran on the vines towards Draxum. 

“I hate this! I hate this!” Leo yelled as he slipped on the vines. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!” 

Draxum removed another three small balls from his side and threw them in the air, which fell to the floor as he did with the vine. The ground crumbled and a giant creature came out, towering over the turtles. 

“Watch out!” Mizuki cried. 

The large creature grabbed the vine and moved it as a gym rope. The brothers screamed and disappeared in the cloud of dust. 

Mizuki gasped and frantically searched through the cloud. She sighed in relief when she saw that they are still alive. 

The creature roared at them loudly. 

“Capture those specimens!” Draxum ordered to the thing. 

“Cowabunga!” Raph shouted. 

The fight was on. 

The turtles ran towards the large creature, Leo cutting off his leg and Raph and Mikey dodging the rocks of the ground the monster threw at them. 

Donnie flew high up in the air and pulled out his staff and pressed the button he used to reveal the rockets on both ends. The staff came out of control and flew straight towards the monster while flipping in the air. 

“No, no, no. No, no, no, no!” Donnie yelled. “Look out, guys!” 

The staff flew past the turtles and April, landing on the monster’s head and slamming him to the concrete. 

The staff flew back up to Donnie, who caught it in time and smirked. “Nailed it!” 

“Well done, purple turtle,” Mizuki silently said. 

“Accidentally impressive,” Draxum commented to himself, staring at the turtles, who are scattered among the remains of the monster. “With a little bit of training, you could as formidable as I’d hoped.”

Leo coughed as April above continued to fight with the two gargoyles in the air. 

“Okay, well, great,” Leo placed his foot on a rock. “And since you’re surrendering…”

“Baron Draxum does not surrender,” Draxum laughed. 

“Okay, well, when he gets there, we’ll deal with him—“ Leo went on, but stopped and chuckled. “Oh, ho, ho, I see. You’re doing that whole “sinister talking in the third person” thing.”

Raph jumped up and growled. “Only Raph can use the third person! All right, guys, time to put our training to good use!”

“What training? You guys have been training?” Leo asked as he and his brothers moved towards Draxum. 

The latter grabbed two different purple balls and grabbed them, resulting in them turning to tree-like arms. 

The turtles fought him with all they’ve got, taking hits and giving their best hits. Draxum slammed his fists to the earth, sending the turtles skidding across the ground. 

“And that’s why Baron Draxum—“ the villain was cut off by one of the gargoyles falling on his head and to the ground. 

“I’m sorry, boss,” the small thing said and moaned. 

April growled and started beating up the gargoyles with her bat and teeth. She gave a quick thumbs-up to the turtles, who also gave her a thumbs-up. 

Draxum aimed his arm at April and shot a sort of cocoon towards her. The cocoon trapped her, leaving her helpless and flying towards Raph. 

“April!” Raph cried and helped her sit up straight. 

Mizuki gasped in horror. 

“You did not just do that to our friend!” Mikey angrily said. 

He aimed his glowing weapon, a kusari-fundo, at Draxum, which unfortunately missed him by a few inches beside his head. 

“Huh?”

The spinning ball suddenly fired up, changing to a fire spirit, and laughed in a maniacal, high-pitched tone. The turtles and April gawked at the weapon as well as Mizuki. 

“Whoa! Magic weapon—“ Mikey screamed as the ball suddenly moved in different directions all over the lab. 

Mizuki tried to find him among the chaos as he was repeatedly slammed into the large machine on the top, which broke and fell down. Mikey soon fell towards where Draxum is standing, the weapon laughing and still on fire. 

Draxum moved in time before Mikey hit the ground and landed on his butt safely. Mizuki gawked at him in amazement.

“Mikey, that was awesome! How’d you do that?” Raph asked excitedly, the other turtles and April staring at him with stars in their eyes. 

“I don’t know, man,” Mikey replied, shrugging, and picked up his weapon. “I was just swinging my weapon, like this, and all of a sudden...”

He got cut off when the fire spirit appeared and laughed again. 

“Just like that.”

The fire spirit instantly zoomed in another direction again and Mikey screamed as he was pulled along with it. 

“Let me try,” Raph said and started moving his two fonta repeatedly. “Magic weapon, magic weapon, magic weapon, magic weapon!” 

The fonta started to crackle red lightning bolts under his command. 

“Aw, yeah!” He exclaimed. “Magic weapon!” 

Unfortunately, the blast sent him flying against the wall, and he fell to the ground, groaning. 

“Mine works, too,” he said. 

Leo ran forward to Draxum with his sword ready, tackling blue lines and blue words on the sword in a different language. “Can’t wait to find out what mine does!” 

He slashed at Draxum’s arms, which didn’t have any effect on him whatsoever. The villain glanced at Leo and raised an eyebrow. 

Leo laughed nervously. The sword suddenly sparked and created a blue petal underneath him. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!” Leo fell through the portal and fell through another one that was over the first one. “Get…me…off…this…ride!”

“And that’s why I like fighting the old-fashioned way: with impossibly high-tech weaponry!” Donnie zoomed in next to Draxum. 

He then started to fight with the large villain, spinning his staff around a few times to fight off the hits landed on him. He pressed a button, forming a robotic fist with blasters. 

Draxum was about to hit Donnie, but the robotic fist was able to hit him first in time, sending him skidding across the ground. 

Donnie jumped up and prepared to hit him against his staff. “Just like I planned it!” 

“Look out!” Mikey cried. 

He instantly slammed into Donnie and they both got tangled up with the kusari-fundo and flew around uncontrollably. 

Mizuki couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the turtles and April unable to fight due to not being able to control them. She then realized that the guards who had taken her did not bother to take her fans. 

She pulled them out and started to cut the vines of the cage. 

Draxum got back up and rubbed his chin. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mizuki breaking free from the cage. He shot out an electric web, which trapped her by her leg. 

She yelled in pain when the web caught her limb and the electrifying pain ran through her. 

Draxum turned around and stared down at the turtles with dissatisfaction. 

“You fight like untrained buffoons,” he said to them. “But under me, you could become true warriors!” 

He fired the same gunk he did with April at the brothers, leaving them trapped and with no way out. 

“No!” Mizuki cried and gripped the prison bars. 

She heard crackling from above and saw flashes of lightning emitting from the top of the machine. Her heart dropped in terror. The orange turtle must have damaged it in the process while his weapon was out of control. 

“Turtles, why are you trying to stop my plans? We are all in this together!” Draxum told them. 

“Uh, hey, I don’t know if this is part of your plan, but the lab’s about to explode!” Donnie, April and the other turtles panicked when they saw he is right. 

Draxum looked behind him, just in time before a large boulder dropped on him from the ceiling. 

The tube of the machine broke, letting the oozequitoes loose and flying free. A part of the contraption broke as well, freeing the small dog-like creature free and teleporting to April and the turtles. 

“Little guy!” April exclaimed. “Can you do your thing and get us out of here?”

The creature squealed and teleported them free from the gunk that trapped them. 

Donnie heard a loud scream from behind him and saw Mizuki still in her prison and trying to free herself from the lightning web. 

“Mizuki!” He gasped and started for her. 

He successfully dodged the debris before he slashed the vines of the cage and the web holding her back. Picking her up bridal style, Donnie raced back to the others just as the dog-cat animal zapped itself and the gang out of the breaking lab. 

They arrived near the entrance where they had first gone through. Mikey pulled out a small device and made a portal on the wall, which opened up and revealed the other side of the construction building. 

The turtles, April and Mizuki jumped through the portal seconds before the lab entirely exploded. 

They screamed and landed on top of one another when they made it through the portal. 

Mikey dropped the device in the process by accident. The small contraption broke apart upon contact with the ground. 

“Oh, no!” Mikey exclaimed. “Splinter’s doohickey!” 

The turtles and April got up from the ground and groaned, rubbing their bruised bodies. 

Donnie lifted Mizuki up from the concrete gently by the arms. They both stopped and their eyes met once again like last time. 

Both their cheeks turned red as they stared at one another for what seemed like an eternity. Mizuki lightly beamed at him and was given a small beam in response. 

Leo saw the two both blushing and wiggled his eyebrows at him, nudging him playfully. Donnie glared at him as his cheeks still blushed. 

The small dog-cat creature appeared in a blue bulb and landed in April’s arms, purring. 

“Are you okay, boy? Or girl?” She cooed at it. “You sure were good through all that mayhem.”

She stopped and perked up. “Hey, Mayhem. That’s a cute name.”

“We just defeated a boss villain,” Raph added. “We’re heroes!” 

He, his brothers, April, Mayhem, and Mizuki stood in a hero pose with determined eyes. “We deserve a name like...Mad Dogs.”

“Mad dogs?” Leo asked. “You don’t think something like Mutant Ninja Turtle Teens or...I don’t know. Maybe—we’ll keep brainstorming.”

“Um...” Mizuki started and stood straight. “I never got a chance to say thank you all for coming for me and the agent. I do not know what would have happened to us if Draxum was already done with us.”

“It’s the least we could do, Mizzy,” April smiled at her. “I’m April, by the way. And these are my friends.”

“Raph. Donnie, Leo, and Mikey,” Raph introduced himself and his brothers, giving a toothy grin to Mizuki. 

“And if it’s possible, maybe I could help you train until we’re ready to face Draxum again if he survived?” Mizuki asked them. “Because back there, the weapons you wield now will be hard to control for the first few times.”

“That’s good, ‘cause we can fix you up back at the lair,” Mikey nodded. “Welcome to the team, Mizuki.”

At that moment, an oozequito flew by the turtles and humans normally. 

“Huh?”

“Oh, no…” Mizuki said. 

The oozequito horde instantly zoomed over the group and headed out into the horizon of New York. 

“Huh, that can’t be good,” Donnie said. 

“We should probably go,” Leo suggested. “People’s blinds are starting to open.”

The turtles and April nodded in agreement and ran out of the building area. Donnie lifted up Mizuki again due to her leg being badly hurt from the lightning web. 

She looked up at him and smiled, her cheeks going lighter red. He smiled at her in return. 

They will be prepared to help prevent people from being mutants together.


	2. Author’s Note

So I got the chapters all mixed up, so the chapters already posted are deleted and I’m gonna have to rewrite the whole thing (not the chapters I have already written down). Until then, I will see you guys soon!


	3. Origami Tsunami

Splinter and Mizuki are sitting in the living area, watching an old film which focuses on a hero fighting off crime bosses. Mizuki sat criss-cross beside Splinter, her back straight and an interested expression on her face. 

“Where’s our free grub, noodle man?” One of the crime bosses demanded. 

Raph mimicked the hero on the screen. “Okay, ha. How ‘bout some—hot soup?” 

He grabbed Donnie and Mikey by the front of their shells and threw them over his shoulders as the hero on the screen did. Donnie and Mikey both fell face-flat on two bowls of noodles as the crime bosses. 

A noodle splattered on Splinter who slurped up the noodle and watched the scene in front of him. 

“Too spicy for you?” Raph continued to mimic the hero and laughed. “Everyone’s a critic. Hm.”

Mizuki got up and paused the movie. She turned to face Splinter. 

“So, this hero? This is Lou Jitsu?” She asked him. 

“He is known throughout the world as the famous celebrity for years,” he replied to her, nodding. “No one knows what happened to him or where he went off to, but they all still remember him through his movies and other merchandise.”

“Seems like a worthy hero,” Mizuki remarked, impressed. 

“Man, “Teriyaki Shakedown” always gets me so—“ Donnie looked up and inhaled. “Jazzed!” 

“Yeah, Lou Jitsu’s the business!” Raph grinned. 

Splinter threw the remote at him, prompting him to yelp and fall to the ground. 

“Then why do you insult the master with your poor technique?” Splinter said. 

He jumped off the chair and grabbed Donnie and Mikey again. He flipped them onto the bowls once more, harder than Raph did before. 

Mizuki went wide-eyed at the stunt the rat mutant had pulled. 

“Do not worry,” Splinter went on. “Someday, you will be great ninjas with a little practice...is something I would say if I were a liar.”

“That’s nice of you to say, Pop,” Mikey said and got up. “But I’m tired of practicing.”

“Yeah, we can be heroes like Lou Jitsu!” Raph added. 

Splinter laughed and walked away. “Nice try.”

Mizuki got up and helped Donnie get up from the floor. “Master Splinter, with all due respect, I believe in them. Even though they were inexperienced fighters, they had managed to fight off Draxum and defeated him. I saw their fighting skills when I was imprisoned. I see no reason why they aren’t heroes yet.”

“She’s right,” Mikey piped up. “We got the squillz, we got the tight color-coordinated team look.”

“Let’s do it! Let’s go out and bust some bad guys!” Raph said and fist-bumped Mikey. 

“But just one problem,” Mizuki asked. “Where are we going to find bad guys for you to fight off?”

“Good point, Mizzy,” Donnie pulled out a tablet from his robo-shell. “I also feel like we need a case to get the juices flowing a bit. You know, let’s see what the Internet has to say about it, shall we...”

He started searching for any crimes committed in New York. 

Leo got up from behind the chair and sat on it upside-down. 

“Yo, Leo, we’re gonna be heroes!” Mikey exclaimed. 

“Okay, what’s the plan?” Leo asked with a bored look. “Solve the city’s rat problem?”

He got hit by Splinter in the tail and yelped. 

“Hey, now,” Splinter scolded. “I am standing right here.”

“Pfft, no way! We’re crime fighters!” Raph said. 

“Have you found anything, Donnie?” Mizuki asked. 

“I got one,” he replied and showed the others a headline with a picture of a spine in x-ray form breaking. “Check this out: The Spine Breaking Bandit!”

“Yeah! Go big or go home!” Raph chuckled. 

“If you want to risk yourself going on a stretcher, then you may wish to do so,” Mizuki sarcastically said. “What else do you have?”

“Uh, okay, here’s something: The Long Island Mangler!” Donnie round another headline with a picture of a person beaten up and his body all tangled up. 

“Okay, Donnie,” Leo placed his hands over the tablet screen. “I appreciate you giving your best effort, but maybe we should save mangling and spine breaking for, I don’t know, our second day?”

Donnie and Mizuki stared at him with deadpanned looks. The purple bandana purple pulled up another article and read it over. 

“All right, well,” he started. “This one’s kind of lame: someone stole paper from a delivery truck?” 

Mizuki looked over his shoulder to read the article. A picture revealed two people carrying boxes, a few papers falling out. 

Leo snatched the tablet from Donnie’s hands and smirked. “Not on my watch! That’s exactly the kind of junior level mischief we can put an end to.”

“Really? That’ll make us heroes?” Raph commented, raising an eyebrow. 

“Leo, please, it’s only paper...” Mizuki started. 

Leo stopped and chuckled. “It’s only paper? I’m so sorry. Donnie, what did she just say? Did she say it’s only paper?”

“Yup,” Donnie answered. 

“Did she say it’s only paper?” Leo continued to laugh. 

“Yes, she did.”

“Okay! That’s what they all say,” Leo started, more determined. “You think the road to hero town is paved with real crime? No! It’s paved with the tears of the poor paper man. And who helps that guy? I’ll tell you who: We are who.”

“Yes!” The brothers cheered. 

*****

Soon, the turtles and Mizuki left the lair and searched for the bandits who took the papers from different places. While avoiding to be seen by people, they jumped from roof to roof of buildings, the moonlight and stars guiding them as lights. 

The group eventually landed on the roof of an apartment and hid to avoid being seen.

Donnie pulled out his goggles to search for the bandits. 

“What kind of weirdo steals paper?” Raph asked. 

“A dreamer!” Mikey replied. “You look at a sheet of paper and see nothing. They see possibilities—“

Raph hit him from behind, causing him to groan and fall to the ground.

“There’s one store they haven’t hit yet,” Donnie added. “And it is right over there—oh, convenient.”

They saw the bandits responsible for the paper being stolen and watched them closely. Mizuki narrowed her eyes at the strange bandits.

“How ‘bout we go stealth and make ‘em wish they stole toilet paper?” Raph suggested. 

Mikey, Donnie, Leo, and Mizuki both chucked at his little remark before they all jumped off the roof and started for the crooks. 

Two men with magical flames flowing from their heads and orange paint on their faces stacked papers into a white truck while checking if someone is watching them. 

The brothers and Mizuki silently crawled down the walls from behind. Mikey landed on Raph and both fell to the ground. Leo, Donnie, and Mizuki easily landed near the crooks, who turned to find them ready for combat.

The crooks went into directions as the turtles and Mizuki started after them.

“You two go left,” Raph ordered. “Mikey, Mizuki, go right. I’ll take the roof and swoop down like a boss.”

They nodded and chased down the crooks. 

Mikey and Mizuki went after the bigger man, who turned around the corner. Mizuki saw a bright pink light and lightning bolts from behind the corner and realized something. 

“Mikey, wait!” She attempted to warn him. 

Mikey didn’t listen and instead collided with Donnie and Leo. The three ended up in a pile, left in confusion and devastation. 

“Where are they?”

“That is you, right?”

“Swoopin’ like a boss!” Raph yelled from above. 

He jumped down towards the three turtles, who both tried to warn him too late. Mizuki leaped out of the way in time before Raph came down on his brothers. 

She saw the white truck the bandits are on drive away from where she is standing. She growled and started after them. 

A whizzing car suddenly blocked her path, but she avoided it in time. She then noticed the van was too far away to aim her weapons. 

She cursed in Japanese before turning towards the turtles. “Are you guys alright?”

“Uh, quick question: Did we seriously just get schooled by paper thieves?” Donnie asked back. 

“I don’t swoop like a boss,” Raph said, defeated. “I swoop like a noob.”

“Man, this seemed like a really cool idea until we didn’t succeed at it,” Mikey added, crestfallen. 

Mizuki went from sympathetic to serious in a matter of seconds at their discouraged state. 

“No. Oh, no, no, no, no. I will not allow mutant brothers who want to be heroes to give up simply because they got outsmarted by thieves,” She proudly stated. “I want them to try as hard as they can, regardless of their past failures and flaws. I want them to be proud of who they are and fight for the good of New York.”

“That’s the spirit, Mizzy,” Leo got up and smiled at her. “Mikey, where’s your...legendary optimism?”

Mikey groaned in response. 

“Raph, where’s your, ya know, your go-getter attitude? And Donnie, where’s your—your thing, your emotionless passion?”

“Here,” Donnie quietly replied. 

“We can still catch these lame old paper crooks and be heroes!” Leo went on. 

“Yeah, that’s gonna be hard,” Donnie added. “This was the last paper store in town.”

Leo and Mizuki looked at one another and pondered for a moment. They both smiled when they came up with an idea.

“Or was it?” Leo smirked. 

“Yeah, I—I literally just said that.”

*****

The brothers and Mizuki worked as hard as they can on their plan, disguising salami as paper and preparing the biggest part of their plans. Soon, they were finished with it. 

Mikey gasped in awe at the sight, while Mizuki placed her hands on her hips and smiled with pride. Raph and Leo fist-bumped one another. 

A large cardboard with a sing reading “Leo’s Paper Hut” and cut-out holes acting as windows and a door with a sign that says “Open” stood in the hole of the alleyway. 

“It’s beautiful,” Mikey whispered. 

Later, Donnie pushed out a sign reading “Paper on Sale” and went back inside. Leo prepared one of the salami stacks, while Raph was standing in front of another one. 

“Do you really think that this is going to hook the thieves?” Donnie asked. “The only paper we have is made from salami which is round. Paper is not round.”

“Yes, it’ll work,” Leo assured, then saw Raph in front of one of the stacks. “Raph, stop eating the plan!” 

Raph grumbled something before he stopped and went next to Mizuki, who giggled. 

“Big salami fan?” She asked him. 

He nodded in reply. 

April walked in through the door with a piece of paper in her hand. 

“Hi, I’m here for the job interview...aw, no.” Her voice trailed off when she saw the turtles and Mizuki standing there. 

Mikey popped up from behind the makeshift desk wearing a glasses and mustache disguise. 

“Man, I thought it was weird to have a job interview at midnight,” April remarked, her hands on her hips, and walked towards Mikey. 

“Ah, Miss...O’Neil,” Mikey read from a clipboard. 

Lights from outside shone, the sounds of an engine dying down. 

“Customers!” Mikey gasped. 

He hid underneath the desk as the others went to hide in a box. 

“April, you’re hired!” Mikey popped out from underneath the desk and handed April the script. “Just follow the sales script and remember the customer is always right unless they’re a psychotic paper thief.”

“Uh, okay,” April replied reluctantly. 

“We’ll be in the back,” Mikey then hid in the box with his brothers. 

Mizuki hid underneath the desk and prepared her fans. 

“Welcome to Leo’s Paper Hut,” she heard April say from the script. “Can I interest you in our—“

She then heard her muffled shouts and the salami stack being taken up from the ground. 

“It’s working half-well,” she muttered. 

She jumped out from underneath the desk and pulled out her fans fully. The turtles popped out from the box and yelled, ready to fight. Mizuki saw April dangling on the roof beam tied up and the salami-paper stacks gone. 

“April! The salami paper!” Donnie exclaimed. 

“It’s gone!” Mikey shouted. 

Leo ran out and saw the crooks had gotten away again. 

“No way!” He yelled in frustration and kicked the sign near the entrance. 

The cardboard with the large sign fell down, revealing the whole alleyway fully. 

Mizuki jumped up the walls and landed on the roof beam. She cut April loose and gently held her over her shoulder. She landed on the ground safely and untied April from the ropes. 

“Sorry, April,” Mizuki apologized. “We’re trying to catch those thieves who took the paper from all over the place.”

“You could’ve called me sooner,” April remarked. 

“This is supposed to be easy,” Leo complained. “How do we keep losing these clowns?”

“Leo, do you really think I would have let you make salami paper without putting a tracer in it?” Donnie smirked. 

He pressed a button on his arm device to activate the tracer. 

Raph gasped when his stomach growled and a red dot repeatedly blinked. Mizuki slapped herself on the forehead in exasperation. 

“It’s okay. I put two,” Donnie pressed another button. 

A red dot revealed the thieves’ location on his arm device. 

“Nice,” Mizuki grinned. 

*****

A while later, the team arrived at the docks where the paper thieves had gone to. They hid behind some boxes, watching them in the shadows. 

“Okay, guys, this is our moment,” Leo said as he viewed through the binoculars. “They may have given us the slip before—“

“Twice before!” Mikey interrupted. 

“Thank you, Mikey,” Leo acknowledged. “Twice before, but now we’ve got them cornered and there’s nothing that can stop us.”

The turtles and Mizuki snuck into the boat where they saw the stacks of paper being stored away into. They eventually came across the room where they saw the thieves standing in front of the paper. 

Leo swooped in and landed feet first, his sword ready. The others came in after him, with their own weapons. 

“Okay, twerp and…” Leo started as the two men turned around to face them. “Surprisingly big man. It’s five against two, so what saw we just call it a day, right?” 

“Whoa! They’re got footprints on their faces!” Mikey pointed out. 

“Uh, are those flames on their heads?” Raph raised an eyebrow in confusion. 

“Feels like a real hazard for a paper thief,” Donnie commented. 

Mizuki gasped in horror when she recognized the thieves’ attire. “The Foot Clan.”

“You! I’m gonna grind your bones with my fists!” The buff Foot member threatened. 

“Ooh, that’s inspired,” the other Foot member, whose voice sounded like an old man’s, added. “We’re both gonna grind your bones.”

“Right. Listen, bubs,” Raph started. “Before we put our footprints on your faces, we gotta ask: what’s with all the paper?”

Smirking, the Foot Clan Lieutenant picked up a slip of paper and quickly shaped it to a small figure. 

The turtles and Mizuki titled their heads confused. 

“Yay, arts and crafts!” Mikey gleefully said. 

“I don’t think so,” Mizuki replied. 

The Lieutenant threw the figure, which transformed itself into a real-life soldier, towards the group, who gasped in awe and shock. 

The soldier yelled and hit Raph against the wall. 

“Uh, hey, maybe we should fight now and register our amazement later,” Donnie suggested. 

“Agreed,” Mizuki nodded. 

Leo ran forward with his sword ready and slashed at the soldier. The figure disappeared from his hit, followed by raining dark red confetti. 

The turtles suddenly panicked as they tried to fight off the confetti and spitting out the small bits that floated in their mouth. 

“Guys!” Mizuki’s shout caught their attention. “It’s just confetti.”

“Huh. Oh, yeah,” Raph understood. 

“Paper viscera,” Donnie said. 

The Lieutenant created more figures, which changed to more live soldiers running towards the group. 

While the turtles fought off the others on their own, Mizuki took on two soldiers. She threw her fan at one behind her, who disappeared from her hit, and kicked the guard in front of her swiftly in the face. Grunting, she threw down her weapon on the guard. 

The figure vanished, only to be replaced by falling confetti. Mizuki stood up and smirked at Donnie, who had seen her fight off her own combats. 

He blushed when she smiled at him. 

“We’re getting nowhere fighting the guys!” Leo said, sitting on top of a small tower of paper. “We gotta take out the source!” 

He charged forward at the buff man, who pulled out his knives and blocked off his attacks. They repeatedly tried to attack one another with their swords before they flew off their hands. 

“Okay. You think you’re pretty good, huh?” Leo said. 

“Indeed,” the buff Foot member replied to him. 

Leo tried to hit him in the face with his foot, but the Foot member caught him by the ankle and threw him against the wall. 

“Leo!” Mizuki cried. 

“You are good,” Leo groaned. 

Suddenly, the stacks of paper started to fly around the two Foot members. The figure grew taller with the soldiers the Lieutenant made until it fully transformed into a large monster. 

The turtles and Mizuki gasped. 

The monster picked up Leo and started to squeeze him with his big hand. 

“Leo!” Raph yelled. “Donnie, it’s piñata time!” 

Donnie smiled and charged at the monster, his staff chasing to a hammer. Mikey, Raph, and Mizuki followed behind. 

The monster repeatedly tried to smash down the group, who dodged its attacks. Donnie and Mikey clung onto the hand that held Leo hostage and tried to free him from its tight grip. 

The monster, however, grabbed Donnie and Mikey as well in its other fist. 

Raph and Mizuki watched on horrified as the monster gripped on the three brothers. They then saw the Lieutenant, who is controlling the creature, smash his fists together, chuckling darkly. 

The monster followed his motions, with Leo, Donnie, and Mikey groaning with each impact. 

Raph’s eyes narrowed and he charged towards the Foot Lieutenant. “Hero town! Population, me!”

“Raph, no!” Mizuki reached out to him. 

The Foot Brute stood in front of the Lieutenant, smirking at the larger turtle. 

Raph yelled and ran at them with his fonta ready. The weapons sparked red with lightning, and red fists appeared over Raph’s hands. He grabbed the Foot members and spun them around until he tossed them over his shoulders. 

The two Foot members hit the wall and slid down, groaning. 

Mizuki stared at Raph wide-eyed in amazement. Raph glanced at his hands and gasped. 

They then saw the monster tumble down as dozens of paper fluttered downwards from its form. Raph instantly rushed to Mizuki, covering her as the monster form was destroyed. 

Not a second later, the turtles and Mizuki popped up, gasping for air. 

The two Foot Clan men also appeared form beneath the paper and glared at the group. 

The buff Foot man then picked up a paper and tried to make a figure soldier. Leo saw sprinklers above him and gasped. 

“Mikey! The sprinklers!” he ordered. 

“I’m on it!” Mikey replied. 

He took out his kusari-fundo and threw up towards the sprinklers. The fire spirit opened up, prompting the sprinklers to activate. 

“Nice!” Mizuki cheered. 

The buff Foot man was able to finish his origami figure only to see it tear down from the contact with water. 

“You may have shredded our plans for now,” he growled at the team. “But next time, you will feel the fury of 1,000 feet!” 

“Oh, you’re on fire today!” The Lieutenant said. 

He picked up a slice of salami and tried to form it to a soldier as he had done with the paper. He threw it towards the group. 

The salami shifted itself to a melting figure, causing the turtles and Mizuki to gasp in disgust. 

“Ew!” Mikey groaned. “That’s nightmare fuel, man!” 

The salami soldier melted down in front of Raph unfortunately. 

“Huh, who knew,” Mizuki said. 

“Okay, salami origami doesn’t work,” Donnie said. 

Raph looked up and saw the two Foot men are gone and lit up. 

“Hey, look, they vanished!” He pointed at where they were before. 

“Then what are we looking at?” Donnie asked. 

Raph saw the pile of salami in front of him and drooled hungrily. Mizuki and the brothers gasped lightly. 

“Oh, what is that?” Leo shook his head. “Don’t do it. Don’t do it. Don’t do it. Don’t do it.”

“No, no, no,” Donnie tried to tell Raph, who slowly walked towards the salami pile hungrily. “Raph, look at me! No!” 

Raph picked up small bits of meat and started chewing on them. Mizuki covered her mouth to hold back her laughter and disgust, while Leo placed his hand over his mouth. 

“No!” Donnie yelled. 

“Ugh! Gross!” Mikey groaned. 

“What? Five-second rule,” Raph shrugged. 

“So does this count as a win?” Mikey asked, turning towards the others. 

“Well, I don’t know. Let’s think about it,” Leo stated. “Did the bad guys get their big supply paper?”

“Nope,” Mizuki smirked. 

“Well, did they build their army of soldiers?” 

“Nuh-uh.”

“Are they otherwise thwarted, and we unscathed?”

“Yes!” Raph, Donnie, Mikey, and Mizuki both answered in unison. 

“Hero mission accomplished, my friends!” Leo declared. 

The brothers then jumped at Leo and laughed in triumph, play-fighting with one another. 

Mizuki smiled and shook her head at the group.


	4. Donnie's Gifts

A large mutant silverfish screeched at Raph while holding a laundry basket full of clothes. 

“Okay, mutant silverfish,” he growled at them. “You’ve eaten people’s laundry for the last time!”

He smashed his fonta on the silverfish, which split up to another creature. 

“What the?” 

He hit the silverfish again, which doubled to two more and went to eating an underwater. 

“Hey, Raph!” Donnie flew to him with a bored expression. “Every time you mash them, they just split in two!” 

“I know. Isn’t it cool?”

“Think, Raph, think.”

Raph thought about the problem for a moment before realizing something. “Oh...I guess it does double the problem. Which means double the smashing!”

He repeatedly smashed at the silverfish, which doubled to dozens more that attacked him all over his body. 

“I got you, Raph!” Mikey called and used his kusari-fundo to gather the silverfish that was on Raph. 

He flew up in the air with the mutants and whooped. “This situation calls for a dose of my psycho-acrobatics!” 

He grunted when his body collided with a balcony outside the apartment windows and fell into a trash can with the silverfish. The trash can moved hastily when the creatures started to attack Mikey. 

They flew out of the trash can and began biting at Mikey, who yelped in fright. 

“Oh, boy,” Donnie face-palmed himself. 

“I got you, Mikey,” Leo said and sliced open a fire hydrant. 

The water harshly shoved the silverfish off of Mikey and landed on the wet ground. Leo landed in front of Raph and Mikey, smirking. 

“Looks like these fish are...” he chuckled and covered his face. “Wait for it, you’re gonna love this...all washed up.”

Mikey and Raph booed at him, while Mizuki rolled her eyes. 

“Okay, okay, okay, how ‘bout this: Those bugs are so wet—“ Leo was busy coming up with another one-liner that he didn’t notice the silverfish getting back up and growling. 

“Uh, Leo,” Donnie started. 

The silverfish jumped at the three and attacked them. They yelled as they tried to get them off of them with no avail. 

“Hold on, I got it,” Mizuki pulled out her fans and threw them at two of the silverfish that was on Mikey. 

“Ugh, this is getting old,” Donnie commented, his robo-shell changing back to normal. 

He pressed a button on his staff, shifting it to a tennis-ball shooter, and shot the other silverfish off the three turtles. The silverfish screeched and ran away. 

Donnie’s staff transformed back to its original form as the mutant silverfish disappeared around the corner. 

“Mission accomplished!” Mikey exclaimed. 

“You guys okay?” Mizuki asked the trio.

“Yeah. Nice hustle, you guys,” Raph said to Donnie and Mizuki. “I knew we could deal with this as a team.”

“Actually, it was pretty much just me and Mizuki,” Donnie countered. “But, segue, I think I have a little something to kick our skills to high gear.”

He used his arm device and pressed a button on it. A drill appeared from the ground in its glory. 

“What the what?” Mikey gasped. 

“Jumpin’ Jack Flash!” Raph yelled in amazement. 

“It’s beautiful,” Mikey hugged the drill. 

“No, no, no. Not that,” Donnie chuckled. 

“What do you mean, not that?” Leo asked him. “That should totally be the thing.”

“No, no, no, that’s just a little—it’s in beta. Don’t worry about it,” Donnie continued. “The real thing is much more personal and thoughtful, and I really hope you like it, ‘cause if you don’t I will be crushed!” 

“Donnie, just show it to us,” Raph joined in. “I’m sure we’ll all love it!” 

“All right. Here it goes,” Donnie pressed another button on his arm contraption. 

“Okay, so we’re just moving past the drill?” Leo asked. 

“Guess we’ll find out,” Mizuki said. 

The drill whirled around again, prompting Mikey to yelp and move back a bit. The drill opened up to reveal different gifts for the brothers. 

“You even got my life colors right!” Mikey’s eyes sparkled at an orange jumpsuit. 

“Oh-ho-ho, wow! I don’t know what this is, but it has got a lot of blinkity-blinks,” Leo marveled at a blue-collar. 

“Whoa, jazzy headgear!” Raph gaped at a red helmet. 

“Donnie, what did you really get them?” Mizuki glanced at Donnie. 

“You’ll see,” he said softly to her. 

The three turtles soon put on their gifts and made heroic poses. Mizuki giggled and shook her head. 

“I’m so glad you like ‘em!” Donnie smiled. “Now let me show you how they work.”

The sound of the silverfish caught their attention from a few miles away. The turtles and Mizuki looked up to where the sources came from. 

“What was that?” Raph asked. 

They ran to the sources, forgetting about the gifts Donnie had gotten them for a moment. Mizuki noticed Mikey not by her side and slowed down to find him looking up at a sign. She went back and pulled him by the front of his jumpsuit. 

“What are you looking at that made you so interested?” She asked him. 

“”Chateau Prétènche”,” he replied to her. “I’ve heard of this place before.”

She quickly covered his mouth when they came across the source of the noises. 

A pig-like mutant was grabbing at the silverfish and putting them in a bag. 

“Another mutant? What’s his deal?” Leo raised an eyebrow. 

“You know what, that guy looks like the Meat Sweats!” Raph joked. 

Leo, Mikey, and Raph chuckled at his joke, while Donnie and Mizuki rolled their eyes. 

The pig mutant jumped down the porthole, getting stuck for a second, then disappearing. 

The turtles and Mizuki followed behind him stealthily until they came across what seemed to be his hideout. They hid behind the barrels and watched him as the pig mutant placed the silverfish in a pot of boiling water. 

“Mmm! A pinch of salt. A pinch of savory,” the pig mutant said to himself. “Lemon for the tang. Unleash the flavor!” 

“‘Unleash the flavor’?” Mikey pondered aloud, then gasped. “Oh, my gosh! It’s Rupert Swaggart!” 

“Rupert who?” Mizuki asked. 

“The celebrity chef,” Mikey said. “Host of ‘Kondescending Kitchen”? The show where he screams at chefs until they give up their dreams? I love that guy!” 

“Sounds like a very harsh man to me,” Mizuki remarked. 

“You saw a celebrity chef transform to a pig mutant and you didn’t tell anyone?” Donnie folded his arms at him. 

“I didn’t wanna burn my risotto!” Mikey replied. “‘Chateau Prétènche is his restaurant. No wonder he’s here!” 

The big mutant pulled the top off the cauldron, unveiling the silverfish fully back to its original form. 

“Oh, he’s not gonna eat that bug, is he?” Donnie wondered. 

The pig mutant then picked the glove off, tentacle-like tendrils now seen by the turtles and Mizuki. The tendrils crawled up to the silverfish and grabbed onto its body. 

Small green dots appeared on the tentacles as the silverfish’s powers trailed up the mutant’s arm. 

“Ugh! The bacteria!” Mikey groaned. 

“Oh, that’s so much worse!” Donnie complained. 

Mizuki turned away from the scene, trying not to look at it anymore. 

“Ah-ha! I feel the rush of your delicious energy!” The pig mutant declared. “The herbs du provence, a nice touch.”

He stopped and sniffed the air before smirking darkly. “Am I picking up the delightful aroma of mutant with an after-stench of turtle? And a human with blueberry color? I’m thinking…lime turtle tenderloin over a bed of saffron rice.”

“Ooh, that sounds good!” Mikey said. 

Donnie placed his hand over his mouth and glanced at him. “He’s talking about eating us!” 

“Excuse me for wanting to be eaten in style!” Mikey sassed. 

Mizuki shushed them quickly when she heard footsteps drawing closer to them. The sounds of barrels being hit by a meat tenderizer rang into her ears harshly. 

Raph yelled and leaped from his hiding spot to face the pig mutant. 

“It’s time to mash this pig’s potatoes,” he said and readied his fonta. “Hot soup!” 

He charged forward at the enemy, his font gripped in his hands. 

“Charging the enemy?” A robotic female voice said in the helmet. 

“What the? Hey, this thing talks?” Raph tripped on a barrel by surprise. 

“Perhaps you should reevaluate?” The female voice appeared again. 

“Uh, Donnie, the helmet’s talking to me!” Raph got up surprised and quickly dodged the mutant’s attacks. 

“Oh, goodie! It’s working!” Donnie exclaimed gleefully. 

Mizuki watched Raph fight off Meat Sweats while the helmet spoke with him about the opponent’s strength and making a plan. Raph then slammed his fonta onto Meat Sweats, who instantly formed to smaller versions of the pig mutant. 

“What the?” Mizuki practically yelled. 

The smaller duplicates leaped onto Raph and started scratching at him. 

“Fascinating,” Donnie realized. “He must have absorbed the silverfish’s powers. This represents a new level of mutant abilities!” 

The duplicates saw Donnie and the others and charged at them. Mikey, Leo, and Raph, who still has little Meat Sweats all over him, ran out. 

Donnie tried to get away, too, but the other smaller versions caught him and dragged him backward. 

Mizuki stopped running and saw Donnie being dragged away. “Donnie!” 

“Ahhhh! Run! Save yourself!” He cried to her as he tried to get the smaller mutants off of him. 

“Hold on, I’m coming!” She unfolded her fans and threw them at the duplicates. 

The fans hit four of the copies, while the others leaped at her. 

“Mizuki, look out!” Donnie called to her. 

She jumped up in time and kicked two of the duplicates away from her. She caught her fans and threw them again at the ones that are on top of Donnie. 

They hit the opponents and flew back to her. She kicked the remaining ones away before moving to help the soft-shell turtle up from the ground. 

“Mizuki!” He shouted, reaching for her. 

Mizuki didn’t react in time, for a hard object knocked her out. She grunted in pain and darkness overtook her vision. 

*****

Donnie’s cries for help and Meat Sweats’s dark laughter were the first sounds to gradually wake her up from her. Mizuki blinked a few times before she realized she felt warm…

A fire, blazing underneath her. It took her a few seconds to understand that she is being roasted alive. 

She screamed loudly and struggled to break free from the sausages that had her and Donnie tied up. 

“A delicate soft-shell, and a fiery, young woman,” Meat Sweats chuckled darkly. “A sprinkle of paprika should unleash the flavor!” 

Mizuki tried everything she can to break herself and Donnie free from the met bonds with no avail. She was starting to panic again, like the time when she was held hostage by Draxum. She was close to crying now as she tried once more to get free. 

“Mizzy, hey, hey, listen to me,” Donnie attempted to reassure her. “I’m gonna try and get us out, okay? Just stay calm.”“I really wanted to,” Mizuki replied, her voice shaking from fear. 

“Hey! Meat Sweats!” Mikey’s voice rang from somewhere.

“Distraction-jitsu!” Raph yelled. 

Mizuki felt strong hands picking her up. She yelped when she got hoisted alongside Donnie and was now carried away from Meat Sweats. 

“Raph!” She cried in relief. 

“Come back!” Meat Sweat yelled from afar. “I used an entire pound of butter on them!” 

Raph managed to get over the train tracks before a train zipped by speedily. He hid Donnie and Mizuki and went off in another direction. 

“What do you think he’s doing?” Mizuki asked anxiously. 

“I don’t know,” Donnie replied. 

“Hey, Meat Sweats...” they heard Leo say. “Looks like you’re about to get some shocking news!” 

The sound of zapping and yells of pain, which definitely do not belong to Leo, resonated in the train station. 

“I love the smell of frying bacon in the morning,” Leo smirked. 

The collar that was put on Meat Sweats sent the electric pains going through him again. 

“I must admit it, I do smell delicious,” Meat Sweats said weakly and got up. 

“Huh? Wait, what are you doing?” Donnie asked Leo. 

“I’m getting the most out of your gift, Donnie!” Leo answered. “Check it out—Hey, Meat Sweats. I hear baloney is full of you!” 

The collar zapped the pig mutant, causing him to yell in pain again. 

“Hey, no, that’s not how—“ Donnie started. 

“He’s getting a little hot under his—“ Leo was cut off when he got punched by Meat Sweats. 

Mizuki gasped and Donnie winced. 

“Chef Swaggart!” Mikey called from above. “Oh! Big fan! I was wondering, um, how do you get your meat so tender?” 

“You’ve got to pound it!” Meat Sweats answered and turned around, only to raise an eyebrow. “Huh?” 

Mikey jumped from the beam, grinning. 

“Impact imminent,” a robotic voice said. 

Mikey’s jumpsuit popped up and he started to bounce around, hitting Meat Sweats in the process. The big mutant hit a train and went through halfway. 

Mizuki lit up when she realized what they are doing. 

“Hey, hey, hey, that is not you are supposed to use those!” Donnie said. “I spent a lot of time on—“

“Donnie, wait a minute!” Mizuki interrupted him. “I think they know what they’re doing!” 

“Yeah, she gets it,” Mikey smiled. 

“Mizuki, please, now’s not the best time—“ Donnie began. 

He was cut off when loud thuds rang from the train Meat Sweat was flown to. The big mutant smashed his way out with the meat tenderizer. He pulled himself out and growled at the turtles and Mizuki. 

A train sped by, and when it soon went away, Meat Sweats was not there. 

“Uh-oh,” Mikey said. 

Meat Sweats came down at the group, his meat tenderizer ready for attack. 

Leo and Mikey got out of the way in time. Donnie and Mizuki screamed as Meat Sweats was about to make his kill. 

Raph blocked out his attack with his fonta and started to fight with the enemy again. He hit the pig mutant away and chuckled. 

“Hey, Raph. You need a plan,” his helmet said to him. 

Raph groaned in annoyance and gripped his head. 

As Meat Sweats was coming at him again, Raph placed his helmet on his hand and smirked. 

“Bad plan!” The helmet yelled in distress. 

“Hot soup!” Raph shouted. 

He punched Meat Sweats in the face and sent him flying in front of a passing train. 

“Rubbish!” Meat Sweats screamed as he disappeared with the passing train. 

Leo cut Donnie and Mizuki loose from the sausage ropes. She smiled at him, Mikey and Raph in relief and gratitude. 

“Donnie, your gifts really brought out the best in us,” Raph said, using his broken helmet in his hand as a way of speaking. 

“I’m funnier!” Leo motioned to himself. 

“I’m bouncier!” Mikey exclaimed. 

“And I’m smash-ier! Your gifts are the stuff!” Raph finished.

“But you were supposed to...” Donnie was interjected by Mizuki. 

“You guys really know how to fight by being you,” she beamed at them. “I’m truly proud of you guys.”

“But, Mizzy, they were...” Donnie started, but sighed and smiled at his brothers. “Ah, forget it. You know, she’s not wrong. You guys are great the way you are. Bring it in! Group hug!”

The turtles engulfed Donnie and Mizuki in a huge hug and chuckled. 

“Impact imminent,” Mikey’s jumpsuit said. 

Their eyes went wide.


	5. Shell in a Cell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to put the other episode in specific chronical order. Let's see how that goes.
> 
> Note: chapter is edited.

The crowd cheered from below as the last two fighters battled one another in the ring. Raph and Leo play-fought with one another on top of the scoreboard, the bigger turtle dressed up as his hero. Donnie and Mikey sat near the edge of the scoreboard from above the ring. 

“Go, Ghostbear!” Raph pumped his fist in the air and ripped the orange part of his shirt to reveal another one that read ‘200-0’. “He’s the greatest ever. He’s gonna win number 200 tonight.”

“Buddy, come on,” Leo jumped on his head, smirking. “You know wrestling is bogus. They always pull their punches. Even I could defeat Ghostbear.”

He spit on his hands and rubbed them together. “I call this one the Three Star Hurricane.”

Leo smacked Raph in the face repeatedly, still smiling. “You think Ghostbear could match these moves?”

“Oh, here we go,” Donnie said. 

“Every time,” Mikey followed, deadpanned. 

“You take that back, Leo! No one beats Ghostbear!” Raph argued as Leo blew a raspberry at him. 

Mizuki slid down the rope of the scoreboard and watched Raph and Leo fight with one another. 

“Mizuki! You came just in time!” Mikey squealed excitedly. 

“Although I’m not interested in these boxing matches, I know I couldn’t deny a request from my friends,” she shrugged, smiling. “So what has gotten into Raph and Leo lately?”

“Raph’s been a big fan of Ghostbear for a while now,” Donnie explained. “But Leo here, he thinks that wrestling’s bogus.”

“I see,” Mizuki nodded. 

Donnie went to grab the last slice of pizza, but Mikey grabbed it and ate it. 

“Woah—ah,” Donnie groaned. “You know what? That’s fine, you have it. I’ll have the next last slice fo pizza.”

“Thanks, D,” Mikey said, his mouth full of pizza

The bell rang twice. Donnie, Mikey and Mizuki looked down to check out what is going on. 

Ghostbear grinned, his challenger knocked out unconscious, as the female announcer held the winner’s wrist. 

“Ghostbear is the last man in the ring,” the female announcer declared. “And when I raise his arm, he will officially be 200-0!” 

The crowd cheered wildly as she began to lift up Ghostbear’s arm. 

“Ha, told you, Leo!” Raph laughed as he held Leo up in the air. 

“Whatever,” Leo shrugged. “Ghostbear’s just a chump in a costume.”

Raph growled and threw him. Leo flipped backwards towards the edge of the scoreboard. 

“I could beat him. I could beat any of them,” Leo said, not realizing what he was doing. 

He flipped off the edge and fell towards the ring. Mizuki yelped and covered her mouth. 

“Leo!” Raph cried and shoved Mikey and Donnie. 

“Avenge me!” Leo yelled. 

He landed on top of Ghostbear and now has his arm being raised by the female announcer. The crowd gasped the moment they saw him standing in the ring instead of the former fighter. 

“People are gonna see him!” Mikey clasped his face. 

Raph groaned in fear. Mizuki still had her hand over her mouth and desperately shaking her head. 

If something ever happens to him or his brothers, she won’t be able to help them get the rest of the oozequitoes. 

“Well, I hope Leo gets home okay,” Donnie shrugged and was about to get up. “You guys ready to go?”

Mizuki slapped him upside in the head and glared at him. Donnie yelped in pain. 

“And the mystery winner of the hour, erasing Ghostbear’s flawless record, your new champion...this guy!” The female announcer loudly exclaimed. 

She placed a belt around Leo, who stood there in the ring, unknowing on what is happening. 

The crowd was silent for a second, until thunderous cheers echoed around the entire stadium. 

People then surrounded Leo, who instantly made poses a celebrity would make. 

“What in the world is happening?” Mizuki asked confused. 

“No clue, but I think I can see bubbles forming in the corners of Raph’s mouth,” Mikey said, glancing at Raph who narrowed his eyes down at Leo. 

“Wave good-bye to Ghostbear, fans!” The female announcer said as Ghostbear is taken away in a stretcher. “We’ll be right back with more wrestling.”

As the female announcer led Leo away from the ring, the turtles and Mizuki followed them by climbing over the vents. They soon found them walking towards the room that used to belong to Ghostbear. 

“I don’t know who you are, but in my league, we turn disaster into stone cold cash,” the woman said and shook Leo’s hand. “I’m Jessica Jaclyn. What do you go by, kid?”

“Uh, Leon Neon,” Leo answered. 

Raph rolled his eyes as he hid above on the vents. 

“That’s terrible. We’re calling you Primetime now,” Jessica said and wrapped her arm around Leo. “Let’s talk costumes.”

“Okay.”

“How married are you to this whole turtle situation?”

Jessica wiped away Ghostbear’s name on the slot and placed in ‘Primetime’. “Remember, you’re the champ now. Anything you need, it’s yours.”

Mizuki titled her head perplexed. 

“And get ready, I’m putting you in the next match to defend that belt,” Jessica opened the door and gently pushed Leo in the room. “Primetime in primetime!”

She closed the door and walked away. 

“This is not happening!” Raph growled. “Leo doesn’t even like wrestling!” 

“Oh, no way, the Liberty League!” Donnie gasped and pointed at a few people dressed up in what seems to be from the 1800s. 

He jumped down and smiled widely. “Hey, hey, fellas. Give it up.”

He held his arm up as the one with the white wig did the same. Mikey gave the man a high-five before Donnie could do it. 

“For your biggest fan!” Mikey said and outstretched his arms. 

Mizuki came down besides Donnie, who stared at Mikey in disbelief. 

“Thanks, kid,” the man with the white wig said and walked away with his comrades. “Nothing like my first high-five of the day.”

“First my pizza, now my high five?” Donnie practically yelled. 

Mizuki heard someone from behind her and turned around to face a buff woman with short hair. The female boxer stared at her and tilted her head, raising an eyebrow. 

“Uh...hi?” Mizuki gave a quick, nervous smile. 

“Love the look on you, kid,” the female boxer laughed and patted her by the shoulder. “Makes you look tough.”

She then walked past Donnie and Mikey in the direction where the Liberty League had gone off to. Mizuki’s eyes sparkled from the inspired comment. 

Ralph landed behind the turtles and Mizuki, low growling leaving his lips. 

Raph kicked down the door to the room where Leo was placed in, his eyes still blazing with envy and anger. Donnie, Mikey, and Mizuki poked their heads to get a better look. 

Leo sat in a king-like throne, wearing shades and a robe while still wearing the belt around his waist. 

“Oh, dudes, this wrestling thing is out of control,” he laughed. “You got to get on my team and get the trickle downs.”

“Dibs on—“

“Dibs on hype man!” Mikey cut Donnie off, who groaned in frustration. 

“You give Ghostbear’s belt back, Leo,” Raph demanded. “You’re not a real fighter, and you’re not a real champion.”

“Uh, correct me if I’m wrong on this,” Leo slid across the desk with the light bulb mirror. “but Ghostbear was your champion, okay? Who I just beat, mm-hmm. So that makes me your new champion. You may now kiss the belt.” He held the belt out to Raph and Mizuki. 

Raph slammed the table, sending Leo landing on the bench. “Not funny, Leo.”

“What’s funny is how easy wrestling is,” Leo leaned back. “Moment one, I’m in the rafter. Moment two, I’m the champion of the world. The whole world!”

“1-0! Greatest of all time!” Mikey yelled. “Hype man!” 

“Mikey, please, enough of this,” Mizuki sternly said to the younger turtle and walked over to Leo. “Leo, this wrestling is getting into your head too far. You do not know the consequences of the even that has happened back there.”

“Mizzy, chillax, girl,” Leo smoothly said to her. “You’re just jealous of me being the champion of the world.”

“This place has the stench of a phony,” Raph eyed the room suspiciously. 

“That’s the champ’s muscle balm, and you will respect it,” Leo pulled out a bottle from his robe. 

He accidentally squeezed onto Raph’s face, and lotion spilled out on him. Raph glared at him, and Leo laughed nervously. 

“Leo, that belt’s going to your head, man,” Raph said angrily, wiping the lotion from his face. “You’re flying too close to the bull, and you’re gonna get stung.”

He then walked over to the door and tried to open it. With the lotion now on his hands, though, the door knob was now slippery 

Raph yelled in frustration and pulled the door apart and threw it down on the floor. 

“You’ll see,” he took one last look at Leo before he stomped out. 

“Uh, dudes—“ Leo started. 

Raph came back and placed the now broken door back up harshly. As he slammed it, the rack carrying clothes fell to the floor. 

Donnie gasped and picked up a white lab coat, glasses with a mustache and a wig. “No way! A genuine Einstein costume, and—”

“A crazy wig!” Mikey popped up and took the wig by the head. 

He licked his palms and pushed the wig up to make a rockstar hairstyle. 

“How do I look, Donnie?” He pointed his fingers in a gun motion at the soft shell turtle. 

Donnie creaked his head towards the younger brother with a strained smile, yet his eyes twitched. 

“Like a man who doesn’t know what’s coming his way,” he said through gritted teeth. 

“Wait, what?” Mikey laughed nervously. 

“Oh, boy,” Mizuki face-palmed herself. 

*****

Later on, Jessica stood in the spotlight on the ring. 

“Are you ready for the main event?” Jessica announced. “Defending his belt in a single pin fall, anything goes match, the newest superstar of the NYWA, with his exotic entourage, One Love, Dynamite Don, and Mystery Beauty...”

Leo rolled out from behind the stage, wearing the belt, a blue shirt, hat, and khaki shorts. He sat on the throne on top of a large object covered by a curtain. 

Donnie, Mizuki, and Mikey greeted the crowd, now dressed in their costumes. 

Donnie was dressed up in a purple suit with large shoulder-blades and a purple hat with a yellow feather. Mikey made crazy poses while dressed in the white lab coat with the sleeves cut off, sunglasses and the wig from earlier. Mizuki, who is dressed up in a sleeveless dark red ballerina dress, high-knee boots, her locket around her neck still, and her hair up in a messy bun, stood next to Donnie and made somewhat flirty gestures at male fans. 

Leo stomped on the object one time, causing the curtain to fall off. A large rocket instantly shot up with Leo still on it and exploded above the ring. 

“Primetime!” Jessica declared. 

Leo landed unharmed on the ring and crouched down. Donnie, Mizuki, and Mikey slid up next to him and warmed him up for the challenge. 

“Put your hands together for the challenger,” Jessica then said. 

The lights changed to red as a large figure appeared behind the foggy smoke. 

“Powerhouse newcomer Red Reign!” 

The figure stomped on the ground. The smoke moved away at his step. 

The buff figure was wearing a red and black jumpsuit, a red mask covering his face. 

He walked over to the ring and stepped up, facing Leo. 

“Don’t sweat him, Champ,” Mikey said to him. 

“Yeah, this bozo’s got nothing on me.”

However, the figure grabbed his mask and crushed it with his three-fingered hand. 

Raph growled at Leo, his eyes narrowing. 

Leo, Mikey, Donnie, and Mizuki gazed at him wide-eyed. 

“Okay, which one of you made Raph angry?” Leo asked the three. 

“I’m going to guess it’s you,” Mizuki answered. 

“Red Reign’s bring the pain!” Raph yelled and cracked his knuckles. 

“And Dynamite Donnie and Mystery Beauty are with him!” Donnie stood up and pointed at the bigger turtle. 

He hit the sunglasses out of Mikey’s face. The crowd gasped. 

“My eyes!” Mikey screamed and covered his eyes. 

Donnie instantly pulled Mizuki up by the waist tenderly and away from the other two turtles. 

“Donnie, what are you—“ Mizuki yelped, blushing almost in an instant. 

“I am tired of you taking all my stuff, One Love,” Donnie went on, his arm still around Mizuki’s waist. “I hereby betray you and Primetime, and team up with Red Reign and Mystery Beauty.”

“This betrayal is my formal resignation of my managerial position in your entourage,” he quickly pulled out a paper of his former position from his suit. 

“Blip, blaow, time to wow!” Jessica jumped up on the ring ropes and ripped off her suit, now wearing a referee outfit. 

Donnie, who is still carrying Mizuki by her lower body, and Mikey backed off the ring, leaving Raph and Leo to fight one another. 

Raph started by aiming himself at Leo, zooming past him, and coming back around. He lifted him up by the back of his shirt, and Leo tried to use his “Three-Star Hurricane” move on Raph. 

The stunt didn’t seem to work for him. 

As Raph continued to beat up Leo, Donnie and Mikey argued about the latter always taking his belongings and the true meaning of wrestling, all while the purple loving turtle still cradled an intensely blushing Mizuki around her waist. 

“Donnie, you are becoming unreasonable here,” she tried to plead with him. 

“Not now, Mizuki,” Donnie said to her. “The two brothers are talking here.”

“How could you turn on your brothers, D?” Mikey argued. “Wrestling’s about the fans, the pageantry. The thick scent of sweat in the air. Not the violence.”

Donnie snarled and let go of Mizuki and began to fight with Mikey. 

Mizuki turned her attention between the currently fighting brothers on the ring and outside. 

“Guys, stop, please…” she began, fear evident in her voice. 

The tension in the air was already starting to become too thick. She was breathing heavily as memories of her past training fighter, his mocking laughter, his cruel eyes, flashed in her mind repeatedly. 

Her hand unintentionally found a chair and pulled it towards her to help her stand. Her breathing changed to shallow heaves, her eyes as wide as saucers. She clutched her chest tightly, her body ready to give up on her. 

Time began to blur in front of her eyes. Her eyes were unable to see what is in front of her. 

A pairs of arms grabbing her by the waist once more in a flash was the last thing she had realized before blackness welcomed her vision. 

*****

“Why didn’t she tell us it was getting out of hand?” Mikey. 

“Dude, she passed out, she couldn’t tell us in time.” Leo. 

“Maybe the tension was too much for her.” Raph. It has to be. 

“Guys, just give her some room. She needs some air.” Donnie?

The brothers' worried voices rang in her head as she was coming to. Mizuki did everything in her power to get her eyes to open, but they were too stubborn to follow her internal order. 

“Guys, guys. Shut up, she’s waking up!” 

Mizuki groaned and moved her head lightly around. Her eyes finally open at her mental will. 

Four heads belonging to familiar turtles stood over her. 

“How are you feeling, Miz?” Raph was the first to ask her. 

“Wh-what happened?” Mizuki slowly got up from the ground. 

Her eyes landed upon a damaged cage and the remaining parts of the ring of the stadium. “Did you guys do this?”

“Actually, that was all Raph and Leo,” Donnie replied. 

“Oh-ho, you should’ve seen it, Mizzy!” Mikey quickly explained with excitement. “Raph and Leo were both fighting, but then Ghostbear came up and started beating up their butts. Then there’s this Chaos in the Cage, and it turns out Ghostbear’s a cheater, but Leo and Raph actually defeated him in the ring, and the whole cage just fell apart! This is the best thing ever!”

Mizuki took in what Mikey had explained to her before she understood. She must have passed out during the whole thing, and she hadn’t known about it. 

“And who won the challenge?” She asked uncertainly. 

“It was that Jessica announcer,” Leo said deflated. “She’s been coming up with surprise twists.”

“Oh,” Mizuki nodded in understanding. 

She then turned to look at Donnie. His eyes were filled with concern and relief mixed together as he stared at her. 

“You were holding me by the waist before I fell unconscious,” Mizuki blurted out to him. 

Donnie’s face turned red when she said it and laughed nervously. “Uh, yeah, well, it’s, uh...”

“Uh-oh, I think somebody’s in love,” Mikey said in a song-like tone. 

“Mikey, shut up!” Donnie whispered to him desperately. 

“Anyway, um, Mizzy, you were right about me getting the belt thing to my head,” Leo admitted. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah, uh, turns out that I’ve been so absorbed with this whole belt deal that I forgot about the whole consequences. But you’re not jealous of me being the world’s famous champion, are you?”

Mizuki became perplexed until she realized what he had meant. “Well, I suppose I am a little envious for a moment.”

“I knew it!” Leo laughed. 

Mizuki rolled her eyes playfully as Donnie and Mikey helped her off the ground. 

“So what happened back there?” Raph asked her. 

Mizuki thought about what she wanted to say, to help cover up what the fighting had reminded her about. But the pleading looks of the brothers convinced her to open up. 

“There was this last fighter I have been trained to fight by,” Mizuki explained, staring down at the floor the entire time to avoid their gazes. “He wasn’t exactly the kind of man everyone looked up to. He berated me, humiliated me, told me I wouldn’t become the brave warrior they want me to be. I tried telling anyone I could find about what he had done, but he managed to convince them about his ‘good’ side before I could say anything. Anyway, um…a while after he started training me, someone had sold him out for what he had been doing and…no one knew who it was…”

Mizuki continued to stare down at the floor, rubbing her arms and hugging herself. She can feel the turtles staring at her, but she didn’t dare look up at them. 

Mikey suddenly hugged her in a flash, followed by Leo, Donnie, and Raph. Their arms wrapped around her tightly, not wanting to let her go for a while now.

Her eyes flooded with tears and she hugged them back. 

“So, Donnie, are you gonna tell her about how you keep on grabbing her by the waist?” Leo asked Donnie. 

“Leo, I swear to God—“ Donnie nearly exclaimed, blushing more than Mizuki did.


	6. Minotaur Maze

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: chapter is edited.

Raph and Mikey tested out their weapons on the roof of an apartment building. Leo, Donnie and Mizuki watched them fool around with their magical weapons. 

“Check this out!” Mikey swirled his kusari-fundo, forming a fiery circle around Raph. “Power-fun-Jitsu!” 

“Uh-oh.” Raph used his fonta to protect himself from the fiery tornado. “Not bad, not bad. but check out these puppies.”

He smashed his fists gripping the fonta and created bigger red fists from the impact of the fonta. “Tonfa-smash-Jitsu!”

“Ohhh,” the three other turtles and Mizuki gasped in amazement. 

Leo quickly shoved Raph aside and pulled his his sword from behind him. “If you guys want to see some real skill, look right here. I’m going to make a portal to New Jersey.”

He moved his sword around, grunting, and attempted to make a circle. A line of blue glow vanished a second after it appeared at the tip of the long knife. 

“Come on, power-portal-jitsu,” Leo mumbled. 

He tried again with the same move he created himself, but another line disappeared. He groaned and tried again a few more times. 

Finally, he was only able to make a small portal in front of him. 

“Yeah!” Leo said victoriously. 

Raph laughed, holding onto his sides. “That’s not going to get you across the street, let alone to Jersey.”

“Okay, but…” Leo placed his finger through the portal and another one popped up behind him.

He started scratching his back with his hand through the second gateway. “See, it’s practical, which makes it better.”

Mikey and Mizuki saw Donnie holding a small purple gem and his goggles. 

“Hey, Donnie, what are you doing, bud?” Mikey asked him. 

“Well, while you guys took flashier items from Draxum, I, on brand, took a more cerebral one,” Donnie explained. “See, the crystal, combined with the elements—“

“Get to the point,” Leo interrupted him. 

“Now, I can see all the mystic energy hidden around New York,” Donnie finished and placed the crystal into his goggles. “You’re welcome, and thank you.”

“You managed to nab it from Draxum’s laboratory?” Mizuki asked him hopeful. “Did you find any more down there?”

“Well, I didn’t have much time for that, but we can try and find more, if you so wish,” Donnie smiled at her. 

“Whoa, that’s awesome,” Raph said, walking up next to Donnie and Mizuki near the balcony. “Hey, what about that laundromat?”

“It looks like a laundromat,” Donnie said, looking through the goggles at a laundry place. 

Mizuki spotted an old woman pushing a shopping cart down the street. “Try that woman, see if you can find anything on her.”

“Alright, what do we have over here?” Donnie aimed his goggles at the old woman and gasped. “Whoa, underneath that old lady’s skin is some sort of fire mutant thing.”

“What?” Mizuki exclaimed. “What is she doing now?”

The old woman checked to see if anyone is paying on her and moved her hand in some sort of magic motion. The words ‘NYC’ suddenly changed to a portal at her command. The old woman went through the portal, which vanished a second later. 

“She just disappeared into that wall!” Mikey said. 

“Incredible,” Mizuki breathed in wonder. “What do you think is behind that portal?”

“I believe she went into some sort of cool, mystic pizza place,” Donnie answered, slapping away Leo’s hand from his goggles. 

“Pizza!” Mikey’s eyes lit up. “Guys, my blood shuggies are getting low. I need to eat, bad.”

The turtles and Mizuki jumped from the apartment roof and landed near where the old woman mutant had gone through. They stood up near the wall and stared it down. 

Raph went to use the same motion as the old woman did, but Leo stepped up in front of him. 

“Step aside, let’s put the prettiest face first,” he said, rubbing his hand through his head. 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Raph replied. 

“Why? If anyone’s gonna get us inside, it’s me.”

Leo used the movement of his hand as the old woman. The skull on the wall blew raspberry at him in response. 

Mizuki giggled and covered her mouth. 

“Nice try, pretty boy,” Raph laughed. 

He gently shoved Leo aside and moved his hand in the same motion as before. 

The portal opened up at his command. 

“Awesome!” Mikey said. 

The turtles and Mizuki, whose hand is being held by Donnie, jumped through the gateway and stopped as they got through. 

They gasped at the sight in front of them. 

Various mutants sat at different tables, chatting away, while waiters walked by without noticing them. 

Donnie and Mikey walked forward, but Raph stopped them by lifting them up by the backs of their shells. 

“All right, all right. Everybody be cool,” Raph told them. “This is our first time in a classy restaurant, uh, establishment.”

Mizuki saw that Leo is not there with them. “Wait, where’s Leo?”

“Hey, I’m over here,” Leo called, his head stuck through the half-closed portal. “This wall is definitely broken.”

Mizuki shook her head, chuckling, and she, Donnie and Mikey pulled him through the entrance. 

“Hm, a table. What do we do?” Raph questioned his brothers and Mizuki. 

“Okay, be cool,” Donnie told them. “I think we just sit at it, and ask for stuff.”

“Uh, like regular people?” Mikey asked. 

“I think here, we are regular,” Donnie nodded. 

The three turtles walked towards the table Raph spotted. Mizuki saw Leo looking at a doorway with a sign above, “Prove You’re A Champion”. 

“Leo?” She called to him. 

“You know what, you just go with them. I’ll catch up,” Leo waved at her and walked towards the doorway. 

Mizuki reluctantly stared off to where Leo had gone and followed behind Donnie and the others. 

She sat down near Donnie and calmly sat up straight. She looked at the purple bandana turtle out of the corner of her eye and smiled at him lightly. 

Donnie beamed back at her reassuringly. 

A slim lizard mutant walked towards their table with a notepad. “What can I get getcha, fellas?”

Mizuki viewed the restaurant with astonishment while the boys ordered their own pizza. When the lizard waitress looked to Mizuki next, her eyes narrowed at her. 

“Don’t worry about her,” Mikey spoke up. “She’s a good friend of ours.”

“Okay, well, what are you gonna have, sweetheart?” The waitress asked her, still eyeing her with suspicion. 

“Um, do you have any smaller pizza? A regular, perhaps?” Mizuki said. 

“We got some, yeah,” the lizard mutant nodded. “Well, your order’s gonna be right out, fellas.”

As soon as the lizard waitress walked away, Mizuki felt eyes staring at her. The patrons in the eatery saw her sitting with mutant turtles, others looking uncomfortable at her intentions. 

Mizuki shifted in her seat nervously, in hopes of trying to avoid their gazes. 

Donnie noticed this and protectively wrapped his arm around her while staring at the patrons as if he was telling them something. The mutants seem to understand his language, for they went back to whatever they were doing. 

Mizuki looked up at him and smiled at him. 

“Here ya go, fellas,” the waitress came back with their pizza and set them down on their table. “And here’s a small regular pizza for you, kid.”

“Um, thanks,” Mizuki said, followed by Raph, Donnie and Mikey. 

She thought she saw the waitress winking at her from the corner of her eye. She shook it off and started to eat her pizza. 

“Sweet salvation,” Mikey picked his piece adn opened his jaws. 

Leo suddenly slapped it out of his hands. 

The slice landed on a gecko mutant, who ate it the moment it was on his head. 

“My salvation!” Mikey cried. 

“Leo, what are you doing?” Mizuki scolded. 

“Yeah, what is your problem?” Donnie practically yelled at him. 

“No, what are you guys doing?” Leo smirked. “Don’t eat that run of the mill garbage...”

“When you can have the world’s greatest pizza,” he finished and showed them a doorway with a red curtain and red velvet rope. 

A sign above read, ‘World’s Greatest Pizza’. A skeleton with one of his arms as a cane in a red and gray suit stood near the entrance. 

“Oh, please, every place in New York claims to have the world’s greatest pizza,” Donnie rolled his eyes. 

Raph and Mizuki comforted Mikey, who appeared disheartened from the loss of his beloved slice. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, but this pizza’s behind a velvet rope,” Leo urged and crouched behind the rope. “Velvet rope, guys. Velvet rope—“

The skeleton slapped him with his arm-cane. 

“You know that means quality!” Leo came up behind his brothers with a hand mark from the slap on his face. 

“Unfortunately, the madame must stay outside of the maze,” the skeleton said, eyeing Mizuki. “Because she is a human and not a mutant, the maze may become too dangerous for her.”

“Actually, I’m thinking about—“ Mizuki stepped forward, but Donnie stopped her. 

“No!” He nearly shouted, placing his hand in front of her. 

The others and the skeleton man became surprised at his answer. 

Donnie stood up and cleared his throat. “No, Mizzy. I think the bone-man’s right. This is probably gonna be too dangerous for you to go through. Besides, you could get hurt.”

“Donnie...” Mizuki started. 

“We’ll be right back, Mizzy,” Leo called to her as he and the turtles went through the curtain. “Won’t take long.”

“But...” she faltered. 

She sighed and strolled outside the room of the champions photos. She leaned against the wall and sighed broodingly. 

What seemed like hours passed, even though it had been only a good 30 minutes or so. Some patrons in the restaurant stared at Mizuki uncomfortably, others whispered about her as if they don’t her to hear them. 

A few younger mutants pointed at her, their parents telling them to not worry about the “blue-haired human”. 

Mizuki viewed at where a infant mutant is staring at her and nervously smiled at them. The infant laughed in reply. 

Her smile fell after a second and she gazed back at the floor. 

Even though the maze is not for a human like her, she really wanted to see what it would be like. But Donnie and his brothers are more worried for her safety than she believed. Even if she did go with them...

“Excuse me?” A voice broke her out of her thoughts. 

Mizuki turned to find the same lizard waitress from before. She became surprised when she was standing a few inches from her. 

“Oh, hey,” Mizuki greeted. 

“Sorry about what I did back there,” the lizard mutant apologized. “Turns out I haven’t seen another human in a while.”

“What do you mean? It’s not your fault.”

“Long story short, I used to be a human before I became like this,” the waitress rubbed the back of her neck. “So what are you doing here?”

“I’m on a mission, long-term,” Mizuki answered. “Those turtles are with me. They’re helping find some “lost items” that belonged to a powerful enemy.”

“I see what you mean,” the lizard waitress nodded. “And I’m gonna guess that you’re part of some rebellion?”

“You’re not wrong,” the younger woman chuckled. 

“So, um, where are you from?” 

“I could barely remember, but I believe I was born in a city of Japan, but I was moved here a long time ago.”

“Really? My grandparents lived in Japan. They love it there.”

“They must be.”

“And what is with the locket?” 

Mizuki stared down at her locket and traced her finger over the letter ‘M’. “My mother gave it to me when I was a child, but I barely remembered her face. This is the only thing I have to remind me of my past. If I can find it someday.” 

“Sorry to hear that, kid,” the lizard waitress warmly said to her. 

“You didn’t know about it, it’s not your fault.” 

The other woman smiled at her in reply. 

“Anyway, my break’s gonna be over soon,” the waitress smoothed out her apron. “My name’s Yami, by the way.”

“Mizuki,” the rebel answered. 

“See ya, kid,” Yami said before she walked off. 

Mizuki sighed in relief and leaned back against the wall again. 

Leo groaning and the sound of laughter reached her ears. Mizuki looked to her side and noticed Leo on Raph’s back and the other three turtles laughing. 

“What happened?” Mizuki asked, concerned. 

“It’s a long story, Mizzy,” Mikey explained, nearly crying from laughter. “Leo just wanted to get a picture of himself on the wall of champions and he tricked us into getting into this Maze of Death.”

“That explains so much,” Mizuki nodded. 

“And then we tried the world’s greatest pizza, which is so good,” Mikey went, then broke into laughter. “Then Leo finally got his picture...in the wall of cheaters!” 

“What?” She nearly shouted. 

“Leo had to make a portal to get us out of that one part of the maze, even though mystic powers are forbidden,” Donnie added, smiling. “But all in all, it is a good night. Right, Leo?”

Leo groaned, lifting a finger in the air, before his head slammed back down on Raph’s shell. 

“I guess that’s a yes,” Raph said.


	7. War and Pizza

Raph used his fonta to block off the shots from the floating microwave-bot, screaming, while Leo and Mikey ran away, yelling in fear. 

Mizuki ran up the wall and flipped in the air before landing on the flying robot and unfolded her fans. She sliced off an arm and steered it away from the brothers. 

“Donnie, a little help here!” She called to the purple bandana turtle. 

“Hold on, I’m getting a call! It’s from April!” He said to her and opened his phone. 

“You are conversing with Donatello,” he greeted. 

“Donnie, I need your help!” April yelled, children screaming in the background. 

“For you, anything. As long as it does not involve bees, or spiders or beach balls. Please not beach balls,” Donnie whispered to himself. 

“Can you fix Albearto? He broke before singing “Happy Birthday”.”

Mizuki stopped after she had pulled out the wires from the microwave-bot. She barely had time to understand, even as the microwave-bot sparked, indicating an explosion. 

Mikey pulled her away using his kuarai-fundo to safety as the robot suddenly exploded. 

“April hasn’t gotten through the “Happy Birthday” song yet, guys,” Donnie said. 

“April still hasn’t gotten through the “Happy Birthday” song?” Raph asked. 

“Am I on speaker?” April realized. 

“Or cake, actually.” Donnie finished. 

“Or cake?” Leo scoffed. 

Mizuki didn’t pay attention to the current situation at the moment. She began to think about how long it had been since she had a proper birthday. 

“Albearto’s is the pizza place, right?” Raph smirked. “We’ll be right over.”

“Hey, if you guys are in the middle of something—“ April started. 

Donnie ended the call, and the turtles and Mizuki immediately headed over to Albearto’s. 

They slammed through the doors of the pizza place, creating heroic poses. 

“Fixers in the house, swooping in to save the day!” Raph exclaimed. 

“That was fast. Actually, I just needed Donnie,” April said. 

“We know,” Raph nodded. “We just came for the free pizza. Remember, blend in like you’re a birthday robot.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” Mikey said in a robotic voice. 

The three turtles headed for the kitchen while acting like robots. 

Mizuki found Donnie already working on the machine, his robo-shell arms at work. 

“You sure you don’t need any help?” She asked him. 

“Don’t worry about me. Just go hang out with the guys, I’ll be over there soon,” Donnie gave her a thumbs up. 

Mizuki sighed and nodded her head. She strolled over to the kitchen where Mikey, Leo, and Raph went off to. April and Donnie saw her disheartened look in her eyes as she passed them. 

“What do you think’s gotten into her?” April glanced at Donnie. 

“No clue,” he shrugged. 

Mizuki joined the three brothers in the kitchen, already preparing pizza. She leaned against the counter and smiled at their greetings. 

Her face turned to the floor and her smile disappeared. 

Birthday...family and friends surrounding her...presents...laughter and smiles...

The thoughts about them repeatedly spun around in her mind as the word ‘birthday’ echoed over again in various voices. 

Leo saw the look, even though she was looking down at the floor, and handed her a slice of pizza already prepared, grinning sympathetically at her. 

She smiled and took it. “Thanks.”

The lights flickered and shut down in seconds. 

“This can’t be good,” Raph said. 

Mizuki’s heart dropped. “Donnie...”

She dropped the slice on the table and rushed out to where she last left Donnie at, the three other brothers following behind her. 

They found him standing outside the stage over a broken remote in a panic. 

“Donnie, what did you do?” She practically yelled. 

Loud screaming instantly came from behind the curtains of the stage, stopping Donnie from answering her. 

Mizuki and the turtles stepped up onto the stage and gasped at the sight a few meters from them. 

A larger robotic creature in a white suit towered over April and the little kids, who are screaming in fear, the claws about to get them. Mizuki growled and jumped off the stage, landing on the ground, and threw her unfurled fans at him. 

They both hit him and flew back at her hands. The attack caught the robot’s attention and glanced at her. 

“Leave those children alone!” She demanded. 

The kids saw their chance of escape and followed April, who guided them towards the exit. 

“Bon giorno, Mizuki!” The robot stalked towards her, a red eye gleaming. 

“He knows my name?!” She yelled in confusion. 

“He knows my name, too, but you don’t wanna know how!” April called. 

Raph appeared out of nowhere and slammed his fist and fonta on the robot’s cheek. Albearto got back up from the floor, and his upper body turned around to face him and the others ready for battle.

“We’ll fix it, April,” Raph smirked. “He may have the crazy, but we have the numbers. Go ahead and bounce if you need to.”

“Don’t leave, I haven’t handed out the party invitations yet,” Albearto chuckled darkly. 

Dozens of wires sprung out from Albearto’s mouth and connected with the other two robots on stage, who came to life from his wires and stood with him in front of the group. 

“Uh, he’s bringing the robots to life,” Donnie said nervously. 

“No sweat, still got this,” Raph smirked, placing his hands on his hips. 

Albearto’s head turned towards the whack-the-mole game and wires sprung out from his mouth again. They connected with the game, causing small moles to jump out and growl. 

“Uh, you didn’t have plans right now, did you, April?” Raph asked April nervously. 

“Oh, I’m staying,” she laughed. “I am the Party Captain, and I am saving Timmy’s party from disaster.”

A young scream caught her and Mizuki’s attention. They whipped around and saw Timmy and another kid ambushed by the moles from the whack-the-mole game. 

“Right after I save Timmy,” April finished. 

“Not without me,” Mizuki unfurled her weapons and grinned. 

The turtles and girls charged forward towards the robots, grunting in determination. 

April and Mizuki dodged the robots, skidding across the floor, and rushed towards the kids. 

Dozens of gophers from the whack-the-mole game surrounded the two children, snarling and showing their sharp teeth. 

Mizuki rushed forward and kicked away the ones near the younger kid and picked him up. April grabbed Timmy and held him safely in her arms and stepped up onto the whack-the-mole game. 

Mizuki prepared her fans and smirked. 

“You might want to close your eyes tight, little one,” she said to the child who clung onto her in the back. “It’s about to get messy.”

The child nodded and held onto her. 

The gophers leaped at her, who sliced and kicked them away occasionally. She took one look at April, who was hitting the other ones with a hammer while holding Timmy. 

“Lookin’ good over there, Mizzy,” April called to her. 

“Same with you,” Mizuki shouted back. 

A little creature in a rocket ship laughed menacingly as he approached the girls and the kids. He placed a coin in the coins slot, and the rocket started moving back and forth violently. 

He launched at them, but they jumped out of the way in the before the creature exploded from impact on the whack-the-mole game. 

Mizuki and April both sighed in relief and looked down at the kids. 

“Are you two alright?” The blue-haired girl asked them. 

They both nodded at her. 

April took the child from her arms and placed both boys in the claw machine. 

“You’ll both be safer in here,” she told them. 

She was suddenly ambushed by a larger horde of moles. Mizuki dodged the ambush and continued to fight off the others. 

“Donnie, when this is over, you’ve got a lot of explaining to do,” she said under her breath. 

As soon as she knows that the gophers who are attacking her are knocked out, she noticed April is being held down by the remaining ones. She threw her fans at them, who are all thrown off of April from impact. 

The fans flew back to Mizuki’s hands and she beamed victoriously. She helped April up and gave her a smile. 

“So far, so good,” the brown-skinned girl said. 

They heard grunting from the other turtles. Mikey, Leo, and Raph are all knocked unconscious from being beaten by Albearto, who laughed maniacally and was about to make his attack. 

“If I can’t have a birthday party, no one can!” Albearto cackled. 

“Oh, no!” Mizuki ran forward. 

She slammed his foot against the robot’s cheek, knocking him down to the floor. 

Albearto then got up and slashed his claws at Mizuki. She dodged the attack and landed on a table. Albearto slashed at her two more times, which she avoided amazingly before he knocked her off the table. 

She grunted when she hit the ground, her fans now out of her reach. 

Donnie’s eyes grew with terror when he saw Albearto stalking towards Mizuki. He then saw a birthday cake resting on a table and had an idea. 

“There’s only one way to get through to this guy,” he said. 

Mizuki gasped when she noticed Albearto about to make his move on her. 

She turned away, closing her eyes tightly. 

“Hey, Albearto,” Donnie called, getting the robot mascot’s attention. 

Mizuki looked up and found Donnie with something that he is holding from her view. 

“You know, you can’t be the King of Birthday Parties without having one of your own,” he held up the birthday cake for Albearto to see. 

Albearto roared but stopped short. “Wait, what? A birthday party for meesy-weesy?”

“That’s right, Albearto,” Donnie replied, using one of his robo-shell arms to help Mizuki up from the floor and stepping over his brothers. “Today’s the day you were born. Through a total accident that’s clearly nobody’s fault.”

“A birthday cakey-wakey?” Albearto tearfully took the cake from Donnie. “For meesy-weesy?”

“Not just a cake, my friend,” Donnie said as Raph, Mikey, and Leo got up from the ground. “We’ve also got a little song for you.”

Mizuki realized what Donnie is doing and nodded in agreement. 

“Happy birthday to you,” both Donnie and Mizuki sang, soon being joined by Raph, Leo, and Mikey. “Happy birthday to—“

April suddenly slammed the whack-a-mole hammer on Albearto’s head. The cake flew out of his hands and whammed on Donnie’s face. 

Mizuki gasped and covered her mouth in shock. She turned her attention from the soft-shell turtle to April, who is now hitting Albearto repeatedly. 

Donnie licked the cake to reveal his face. Raph took a chunk off, and the cake crumbled to the floor, as he, Leo and Mikey watched the brown-haired girl beat the robot. 

“Take that!” April yelled. 

She stopped and panted heavily, the robot now in complete shreds from the beatings. 

“Sing with me, guys! I am finishing this party!” She pointed her hammer at the group and beamed. “Happy birthday…”

“Finish the song!” She commanded. 

“Dear…” Everyone started, but then said random names as best as they can. 

“Kid—“

“Squirt—“

“Albearto?” Donnie said uncertainly. 

“Happy birthday to you,” they finished singing. 

The building suddenly rumbled and fell down bit by bit. Donnie wrapped his arms over and around Mizuki protectively. 

Soon, the building was now in shambles. The kids, April, Mizuki, and the brothers looked around in shock and anxiousness. 

“Later. Have fun cleaning up, bye,” Donnie quickly said and picked up Mizuki bridal-style. 

She yelped as he started to follow behind his brothers, who both said various goodbyes to April. 

“Best birthday ever!” She can hear the birthday boy yell from the claw machine. 

She smiled at his reaction, despite going through everything that had happened. 

*****

Mizuki stretched her arms and legs and laid down on her bed. She glanced up at the ceiling and rubbed her forehead. 

“Best birthday party, if I have ever been to one,” she mumbled. 

Her smile dropped when she realized that she still never had a birthday of her own before. 

She had been training alongside her rebel mates for as long as she can remember. Even they never even bothered to ask her when her birthday was or ever said ‘happy birthday’ to her. There was that one time her leader had tried to cheer her up with an improv birthday, but it still didn’t hide the fact that no one even cared. 

Mizuki hurriedly wiped away her tears and swallowed the lump in her throat. 

Her phone rang beside her. She picked it up and saw that it was April calling her. 

“Hello?” She greeted. 

“Hey, Mizzy. How’s everything goin’?” April answered. 

Mizuki bit her lip. “You’re not mad at us for leaving you back there, are you?”

“No worries, it’s all good.”

A next question came up in my mind. “Did you get fired?”

“Oh, yeah. I figured it was going to happen. But aside from that, at least I managed to get through the birthday song.”

Mizuki smiled, then fell. “So now what are you going to do?”

“Dunno. ‘M gonna try and find another job, see if it’ll work out.”

“I mean, I’m really worried about you back there and all, having to deal with after what happened back there.”

“It’s alright, I’m pretty sure I’ll find another job. But anyways, let’s just talk about you. You’ve been mopey since you came down to help me? Ya okay?”

Mizuki hesitated and realized. She had been moody because she hadn’t had a birthday, a real, proper one. And she had never bothered telling anyone about it. 

“Look, April. I’m going to be honest with you,” Mizuki explained. “The whole reason why I’ve been moody is...well... I’ve never had a real birthday before.”

“What?” She can hear April’s shocked voice on the other side. 

“I’ve been trained my whole life to fight and protect humanity, and I’ve never even had cake, presents, not even friends and family to celebrate with. I wanted to tell you guys, but with what happened back there, it must have slipped my mind.”

“Oh, man, Mizzy. I’m so sorry.”

“Look, April. It’s not your fault. I mean, I still remember my birthdate, but I can’t remember the last time I ever had a real birthday.”

“Poor girl. Maybe we should give you a really good birthday one day.”

“April, there’s no need for it, but thanks for trying to cheer me up.”

Silence on the other end for a few seconds. 

“It’s no biggie, Mizzy,” April answered. “Anyway, I’ll see you later then?”

“Goodnight, April,” Mizuki said and ended the call. 

She sighed and laid down on her bed. She looked up at the ceiling one last time before her eyes closed. 

*****

She turned over under the covers before her forehead nearly collided with something hard. And wrapped under paper?

Mizuki got up and rubbed her eyes tiredly. They went big when she saw two small gifts and a card on her bed beside her. 

“What the...”

She slowly picked up the first present, which has a red bow. The moment she unwrapped it, a small stuffed bear with a red and black dress came up into her view next. She took it out of the box and treaded her fingers against the soft fur. 

“What...”

Picking up the smaller present with an orange bow, Mizuki opened it and gasped in amazement. A pair of colorful fans with light purple rosebuds and white background rested in her hands. 

A different present with a blue bow was the next thing she picked up. She pulled away the ribbon and wrapping paper and nearly gasped at the sight of a pair of pajamas with a unicorn in the front of the shirt. 

She then turned her attention towards the last present, a little box with a purple bow tied on top. The blue-haired girl opened it and was surprised to find a pendant with a bright lavender gem. 

“But that means...” Mizuki was close to tears now. 

She picked up the card and opened it.

“To a girl who is a great warrior and friend, hope your birthday is incredible,” she read from the card. 

Her cheeks were now stained with tear streaks as she read the card over and over again. She couldn’t hold back the smile that had grown on her face. 

How did they know? 

Then she realized that April must have told them about what she said explained to her last night. They had worked all night trying to get this all ready for her last evening. 

Her phone beeped, revealing Mikey’s name in the caller ID. Mizuki decided against her better judgment on not letting them see her crying and answered. 

“Happy Birthday, Mizuki!” The turtles, Splinter, and April yelled when they saw her in her tired, yet happy state. 

Mizuki smiled and wiped a tear away from her eyes. She didn’t care that her hair was a mess from last night. 

She laughed lightly and beamed at them tearfully.


	8. Newsworthy

Lately, there had been news reports about circus animals going missing, which means no magic shows until they are found. Then, there’s this hippo mutant who is responsible for taking them, which somehow reminded her of that one magician and his pet hippo. 

Mizuki still thought about it as she, Leo, Donnie and Mikey landed next to Raph who is dressed up in a hippo suit. 

“You sure that evil mutant hippo is around here?” Raph asked as he pulled the hippo head off. “It’s a million degrees in this thing.”

“Um, I’d be happy to wear it, if you need a break,” Mikey took the hippo head and put it on. “Or you could let Mizuki do it.”

“No, no. No, no, no, no. I’m the leader,” Raph quickly took the head from him. “The leader wears the suit.”

“Well, I mean he’s got a point,” Leo stated. “Raph is the most hippo-like.”

Donnie, Mikey and Mizuki both snickered at his comment. 

“I’m gonna attract him, I need more of that female hippo scent” Raph said. 

Donnie pulled out a perfume in a hippo-shaped bottle and sprayed onto Raph, who blushed from the perfume’s contact with his cheek. 

“Jazzy fresh,” Raph smirked. 

“Help!” A male voice echoed from afar. “A hippo magician is trying to saw my magic worm in half!” 

The turtles and Mizuki glanced at where the voice is coming from. 

“Guys! That must be him!” Raph yelled. 

“I highly doubt that,” Mizuki mumbled. 

They jumped from building to building towards where that voice came from. They soon stumbled across the owner of the voice in the playground and landed on the roof of a playground equipment. Mizuki titled her head perplexed as she studied a worm with glasses and a mustache, spotlights shining on him. 

“Does anyone else find this whole thing a little—“ Leo started. 

“Odd? Just—“ Donnie began. 

“Magic worm?” Mikey added. 

“Out of context?” Mizuki asked. 

“Totally legit,” Raph said. 

He jumped from the playground roof and flipped in the air to where the worm is. “Don’t worry, Raph will save you.”

Unfortunately, he landed on a goopy paper and tried to free himself from it. 

“Uh, ‘ey, ‘ey. Raph stuck.”

“Not again,” Leo smacked himself. 

The turtles and Mizuki jumped from the playground roof. Leo and Donnie worked on trying to get the goop paper off of Raph, while Mikey played around on the monkey bars. 

Mizuki stepped closer to the magic worm and squinted her eyes at it. “Uh, guys, something is definitely...”

The worm suddenly laughed maliciously and turned to look at her. Mizuki let out a terrified shriek and stumbled back away from him. 

The turtles heard her shriek and stared right at the worm wide-eyed. 

“Stepped right into my goop trap,” the worm victoriously sneered at the group. 

“Your what now?” Raph pulled off the hippo head, staring at the worm confused. 

“Goop trap.”

“Talking magic worm?” Mikey slid down the slide. 

“That was all a ruse,” the worm continued, and pulled off the glasses and mustache disguise. “For I am Warren Stone, your greatest foe, and—“

Leo interrupted him by poking at his head. “I’m sorry. Warren who?”

Donnie and Mizuki stared at him in confusion. 

“Stop it. Stone,” the worm growled. “I’m your great—I’m your greatest fo—“

“Ah, don’t tell me. What are you? Um, Worm-Man?” Leo interrupted him again. 

“No, no, no, I’m Wa—“

“Can someone help me get unstuck?” Raph pulled off his hippo helmet. 

“Fine,” Leo sighed. 

“Hold on, Raph, we’re gonna get you out,” Mizuki offered. 

Leo, Donnie and Mizuki, who pulled out her fan to help with, then tried to pull the goop trap off of Raph, while Mikey played on the playground equipment. They ignored Stone, who tried to catch their attention without success while still on top of the box. 

Stone yelled and jumped on Mizuki’s head. She let out a loud scream and tried to get the small worm away from her. 

“AH! Get it off of me! Get it off!” She cried. 

Leo smacked Stone off her head and pulled out his sword instantly. He sliced the worm in half, the first half falling to the ground unmoving. 

Mizuki covered her mouth, muffling her fearful cries at the sight of the event. 

“Oh, what did you do?!” Raph shouted. 

“He was on her head! I panicked!” Leo yelled back, biting his fingers. 

“Is he gonna be okay?” Mikey asked worriedly. 

“Is he gonna be okay?!” 

The second half of the worm’s body hit the concrete floor in front of the terrified turtles and Mizuki and moved slightly. 

“He’s in two pieces!” Raph cried. 

“You fools!” Stone woke up and glared at them. 

The five screamed and backed away, holding onto one another and whimpering. Donnie hugged Mizuki close to him defensively while hiding behind Raph. 

“You’ve unleashed my ultimate power,” Stone groaned and clutched his chest. “Now I can—“

“You can clone yourself?” Mikey gestured at him on top of Raph. 

“No, I regenerate,” Stone groaned. “It’s an amazing power, but it’s incredibly painful.”

“Fascinating,” Donnie stepped closer to him while still holding Mizuki. “How long does the regeneration process take?”

“Several...days,” Stone groaned again. 

“And you grow back with double the strength,” Mikey buffed his muscles. 

“No.”

“But four times the size,” Raph suggested. 

“If I don’t grow back twice as strong, why would I grow back four times as big?!” Stone nearly yelled. 

“I don’t understand you,” Leo slowly said to him. 

“Can we just go? This is already freaking me out,” Mizuki added, clutching to Donnie. 

“Sounds like a good plan,” He nodded. 

“Can we go get some pizza now? I’m hungry,” Raph said as the brothers and Mizuki walked away from the worm. 

“Are you sure he’s gonna be okay, guys?” Mikey asked uncertainly. 

“I’m fine, you swamp-stinking, county-fair-prize losers!” Stone groaned from afar. 

“You heard him scream. He’s fine,” Raph answered. “Ugh, I have my fists ready on bustin’ up a magic hippo. What a waste.”

“We’ll find him next time,” Mizuki patted his arm, even though she is still cradling Donnie’s arm. 

*****

She was right. A few hours later, there was a report on a rampaging hippo down at the Burgundy Center via Donnie’s scanner. 

Mikey was the one who is wearing the hippo disguise this time when they arrived at the Burgundy Center. They soon stopped at their destination and hid on the roof of the building. 

“Now are you sure the hippo is in there?” Leo asked. 

“Uh, yes, I picked it up on my scanner,” Donnie told them. “A current occupant called it in.”

The turtles formed a circular entrance on the glass roof and pulled it to the side. 

“Now, explain to me again, why can’t I wear the suit?” Raph pouted, folding his arms across his chest. 

“Oh, we’ve been over this,” Leo rolled his eyes. 

“You ruined that woman’s 95th birthday,” Donnie told him. 

“She’s fine,” Raph practically protested. 

“I’ll do you and your suit proud,” Mikey wrapped his arm around the larger turtle. 

“Treat it with respect. And be careful,” Raph said and shoved Mikey down the center. 

Leo and Raph jumped on the lights above Mikey and shone them on him. Mikey then started to dance in a exotic way, making the turtles and Mizuki confused. 

“What is he doing?” Leo asked. 

“Some mating dance he saw on Nature Planet,” Donnie explained. 

Mizuki nearly laughed and covered her mouth while she watched Mikey dance around the center. 

“Hippo, I’m right here,” he called. 

Leo shoved a mannequin aside and grabbed a microphone. “Hippo-Man. Your biggest fan is here. She loves magicians’ animals. Bunnies, doves, tigers and was hoping you brought some.”

“I hope he likes me,” Mikey said hopefully. 

“He will. Of course he’ll like you. You’re adorable,” Leo reassured him. 

Mizuki finally lost the control to hold back her laughter and held onto her sides as Mikey kept on throwing in dancing moves. Donnie smiled at her and blushed lightly. 

She really is beautiful in the light...

“Breaking news!” 

Leo, Donnie, Raph and Mizuki stood in front of Mikey and narrowed their eyes at where the voice came from. Four spotlights shone on the chair and desk. 

“You may have beaten me before, but I’m a little tougher this time,” the person behind the chair slowly clapped, turning around. “You see, I’ve enhanced myself. I’ve really grown into my role as your greatest nemesis.”

“I’m really pumped up for our little tête-á-tête!” Stone revealed himself with a blue gem attached to his now buff body. 

“Jumpin’ Jack Flash!” 

“Okay.” 

“What the—“

The turtles and Mizuki stared at Stone, silence filling the air for a second. 

“You’re not a hippo, are you?” Raph asked him. 

Stone twitched but spoke up, flexing his muscles. “No, I’m not a hippo. Do I look like a hippo to—“

“Maybe a baby hippo?” Donnie measured with a measuring tape. 

“I am not a hippo, and please stop interrupting me. I called in the hippo sighting.”

“Guys,” Mikey stammered and gestured to Stone. “He’s Current Occupant.”

“Yes, he gets it,” Stone beamed smugly. “I am Current Occupant.”

“And we’re here to save you from the hippo magician,” Mikey finished. “Where is he?” 

“No, you green idiot,” Stone sneered. “It was a ruse. There is no hippo. I’m Warren Stone, your greatest nemesis. Prepare to meet your—”

A loud explosion cut Stone off and smoke surrounded the group. A large hippo mutant appeared, wielding rings. 

“Ta-da! Hypno-Potamus has arrived!” He exclaimed. 

Mizuki pushed Stone aside with her fan. “We’ll save our little conversation for later.”

“Finally. It’s the thing we actually care about,” Raph said and shoved Mikey forward. “You’re up, Mikey.”

The hippo scent, which is still on the disguise, attracted Hypno-Potamus. He smiled at Mikey and dipped him. 

“Hello, future Mrs. Hypno-Potamus,” he said and winked. 

“You tease,” Mikey swooned. “Oh, my.”

Raph wiped away tears, while Leo gagged in disgust. Donnie nodded his head in approval, and Mizuki smiled lovingly. 

Mikey slid up to them, not wearing the hippo helmet. “See? My hippo is more hippo-ey.”

Hypno-Potamus was kissing the hippo head before his eyes opened up and went big. He yelped and stared at the turtles and Mizuki, who were laughing. 

“Pulled the ol’ false-Jenny on me,” he mumbled to himself. “I gotta say, this has been the worst mating season.”

He pulled out his rings from behind him and laughed. “Ah, feel the power.”

“That is one well-dressed evil mutant hippo,” Leo commented. 

“Fellas, Mizzy, let’s smash this guy,” Raph smirked.   
The turtles and Mizuki charged at Hypno-Potamus and yelled their battle cry. 

“No, smash this guy! This one right here!” Stone tried to fight them, but with his lower body cut in half again, he can’t get to them. 

“Not a good time right now,” Mizuki told him. 

Leo slashed his sword at Hypno-Potamus, who blocked off his attack with one of his rings. 

“Sleight of hand!” He said. 

The turtles and Mizuki battled with him, while avoiding being hit from any of his rings. 

Raph smashed the ground with his fonta to try and hit the mutant hippo, who dodged him. 

Hypno-Potamus threw his numerous rings at Raph. The larger turtle dodged them and flew back near his brothers and Mizuki. 

They then jumped up in the air, readying their weapons and yelling. 

“Mezmer-roo!...” Hypno-Potamus yelled. 

A hypnotizing vibrato echoed from his mouth and towards the teens. 

“What—“ Mizuki was suddenly cut short, and everything went black. 

*****

A child’s laughter appears in the darkness, prompting her to sit up and spin around to find the source. 

She is standing in the blackness, with nothing else surrounding her. 

The child’s laughter appears again. Mizuki turns around in another direction. 

“Hello?” She calls. “Who’s out there?”

Nothing. 

A light slowly shines from behind her. She shields her eyes with her hand as the light grows brighter before her. 

She gasps at the image of the light became clearer. 

A woman with blue hair and full lips and a man with almond-shaped eyes smile at her, their mouths moving as if they are laughing.

Her eyes grow big, a few tears spilling down her cheeks. “P-Papa? Mama?”

She steps forward to where the two people are, but suddenly falls. Nothing is there to catch her as she starts falling into darkness. 

*****

“Mizuki! Mizzy!” Donnie’s voice was muffled from a distance, then slowly became clearer. “Wake up, Mizuki!” 

Mizuki groaned and gradually opened her eyes. Donnie sighed in relief and helped her up from the ground. 

“Are you okay?” He softly asked her. 

“Yeah,” she nodded. 

Leo, Raph and Mikey both rubbed their heads on the ground, finally out of the trance as well as Donnie and Mizuki. 

“What just happened?” Leo asked. 

They then saw Hypno-Potamus on the floor, unmoving and in a trance somehow. Raph placed his foot on top of his chest and smirked victoriously. 

“I think we won,” Raph said. 

“My plan must’ve worked,” Donnie added. 

“And it was my plan to use your plan. You’re welcome, everybody.”

“I think by rejecting him I broke his heart,” Mikey said, disheartened, and quickly took off the hippo suit, shoving it to Donnie. “Ooh, sheesh. This suit is too much power.”

“No!” 

“Huh?” The turtles and Mizuki gasped. 

Leo turned around and found Stone, no longer buff and small once again, stuck underneath his shell. 

“I saved you loser Turtles by hypnotizing that beast and saving your lives!” Stone yelled. 

Mizuki reached out and pulled him out from Leo’s shell, nearly gagging. 

“And you are?” Leo asked him. 

Stone pouted.


	9. Repo Mantis

Mizuki landed on a discarded car and crawled down behind it. She looked around to check if she is clear. She then pulled out a device from her knapsack and dialed a number. 

After a few rings, a face of a middle-aged woman appeared on the holographic screen. The woman has brown hair with grey streaks, tired yet determined violet eyes, and thin lips. 

“Mizuki,” the woman greeted her warmly. “I thought we would never hear from you again after you didn’t come back.”

“Apologies, Master Jupiter,” Mizuki bowed her head in respect. “I had sustained injuries from the fight with Draxum.”

“Baron Draxum? It can’t be,” Jupiter gasped in shock. “He was believed to be destroyed years ago after his work was damaged greatly many a times ago.”

“It’s alright, Jupiter,” Mizuki told her reassuringly. “He’s already gone. But if he ever comes back, we’ll be ready for him.”

“I dare the gods above he comes back,” Jupiter shook her head. “He has caused too much damage already on our world.”

“And I regret to bring bad news,” Mizuki’s face turned to crestfallen. “The vial the agent has, Draxum had taken it. And the oozequitoes, the ones he had in his lab, they are now loose over New York City.”

“It’s not your fault, young warrior,” Jupiter comforted her. “Draxum will pay for threatening mankind.”

“And I won’t be alone. Please don’t be alarmed, but there are four mutant turtle brothers who saved my life when Draxum kidnapped me. I’ve planned on training them and aiding them with capturing the oozequitoes.”

Jupiter nodded her head in understanding. “I see. And are you sure you can trust them?”

“I’ve seen them fight off Draxum with their new magical weapons. I know they can do this.”

Jupiter studied the younger girl’s knowing eyes before she nodded again and smiled. 

“I understand and respect your decision. Draxum will surely be defeated once more soon. Until next time, Mystic Protector.”

The screen turned off at the wave of her hand. 

Mizuki sighed and leaned her head back against the car. She took a look at her healed hand and leg. The slashes that had turned to white lines on the back of her palm when she tried to take the vial from Mayhem, and the lines from the electric web on her leg when she was trying to escape from Draxum’s lab. 

She thought about how the brothers had quickly introduced her to Splinter after Donnie healed her wounds from the fight. She thought about how they had helped her get back to her own hideout after she had rested well enough. 

And most importantly, she thought about how Donnie hung out with her until it was time for him as his brothers to head back to their lair. 

‘How much time passes for us,’ Mizuki thought to herself. 

Loud thumps rang to her ears from the other side of the junkyard. She got up and saw Donnie and Mikey rummaging through a vehicle trunk. 

“Man, junkyards are goldmines!” Donnie smiled and ran through a lot of different objects in the trunk. 

Mizuki titled her head in confusion and walked over to them, hiding behind a few cars to avoid being spotted. Donnie picked up a scent emitter and sniffed it. 

“Who needs real pineapples when you have one of these babies?” Donnie sighed in content. 

As Donnie searched for any more stuff in the trunk, a large magnet picked up a discarded vehicle and carried over to where he and Mikey are. 

Mizuki was the first to see it. Her eyes grew in terror. 

“Donnie! Mikey! Get out of here!” She warned them. 

Mikey heard her and tried to get his brother’s attention. “Donnie! Donnie! Donnie! I really think we should—” 

“Hey, Mizuki!” Donnie saw her and revealed to her fuzzy dice. “Check out those fuzzy nerd dice I have!” 

“Donnie!” Mikey yelled again, pointing up at the car about to drop on them. 

The car was released by the magnet and fell towards them. 

“Watch out!” Mizuki screamed. 

Mikey pulled Donnie away at the last second and both grunting with impacts on cars piled up on one another. They landed on the seats of a different car, the dust clearing from their landing. 

Mizuki rushed over to them and nearly scared them when she slammed her hands against the car door. 

“Didn’t Mikey try to warn you, Donatello?!” She practically yelled at him. “You could have been hurt!” 

“Relax, Mizzy, we’re fine,” Donnie sighed in relief. “Besides, Mikey, next time, I would appreciate a heads-up.”

“Okay,” Mikey answered, then gasped when he saw something through the rear view mirror. “Heads up!” 

He turned the rear view mirror a bit to get a better look. 

A tow truck, a door with the words ‘Repo Mantis Salvage’, dragged a large blue vehicle by the front, passing by the two turtles and Mizuki. 

“Is that...”

Donnie gasped, his eyes sparkling. “It is!” 

“The Jupiter Jim Moon Buggy!” Mikey squealed in excitement. 

“The Jupiter Jim Moon Buggy?” Mizuki asked. “What’s so special about it?” 

“This very vehicle was featured in not one, not two, but 60 sequels of “Jupiter Jim’s Last Trip to the Moon”,” Donnie explained to her joyfully. 

The tow truck that pulled the Moon Buggy suddenly turned sideways, sending it rolling across the ground until it landed right side up. 

“How can anyone let that historical gem slip through their fingers?” Mikey whined. 

“I do not know, Michael,” Donnie replied, his eyes changing to determined. “But we’ve got to have it.”

“I’m not sure about this,” Mizuki hesitated. “What if someone was already willing to get that Moon Buggy?”

“Well, if they want it, they will have to get it from our cold, dead hands,” Donnie smirked at her. 

He kicked down the door on his side and stealthily ran over to the Moon Buggy, Mikey and Mizuki following behind. 

“But how are we gonna get the car?” Mikey silently asked. “We can’t go and talk to one of those human people. No offense, Mizzy.”

“None taken,” Mizuki nodded. “But Donnie, Mikey is right. If they see you two, who knows what they could do to you.”

The car the three are hiding behind was unexpectedly lifted up, causing them to stumble backwards. 

A large, purple mantis, wearing a wet shirt, dark purple jacket and spiky belt, who was lifting up the car saw them and growled. 

“Who the heck are youse?” He snarled. 

“Oh, no, a mutant!” Donnie yelled but stopped. “Wait, we’re mutants, too. It’s okay.”

“Dude, you better hide,” Mikey pleaded with him. “There’s a human around here.”

The mantis saw Mizuki and narrowed his eyes at her. “You mean, besides herse?”

Donnie protectively pushed Mizuki behind him. “Actually, she is a friend of ours.”

“Right,” the mantis nodded and dropped the car behind him. “And easy, easy. This is Repo Mantis Salvage. The guy is me.”

“This is your lot?” Mikey lit up and got close to him. “You have to sell us that moon buggy! Please!” 

Donnie pulled Mikey by the back of his shell and Mizuki by the shoulder and lead them away from Repo Mantis. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,” Donnie whispered to him. “Cool your scramjets, buddy. This is a negotiation. We gotta play it smooth.”

“Call it whatever you want, I’m planning on calling it interrogation,” Mizuki quietly said to him. 

Donnie and Mikey both donned sunglasses and strolled towards the Moon Buggy, acting like they are viewing it with interest. Mizuki walked beside Donnie as he wiped his finger over the wheel plate. 

“So, uh, how much you gonna pay us to take that pile of parts off your hands, amigo?” He crossed his arms over his chest as he asked Repo Mantis. 

“Scram. I got a lot of fenders to count,” the latter picked up a clipboard and said to him begrudgedly. 

“I see you drive a hard bargain, sir. Well, perhaps I can interest you in a little coin.” 

Donnie pulled out his wallet and picked up various coins. Mizuki face-palmed herself in exasperation. 

“I got big silver, small silver, and I can make it rain copper, daddy,” Donnie revealed dimes, quarters and pennies. 

There was a short silence before Repo Mantis spoke up again without facing them. 

“Hey, you ain’t got nearly enough, but say, I could use a couple of tough muties and a human like you.”

The purple mantis turned to face the turtles and Mizuki. “Ever do any repo work?”

“Of course,” Mikey answered but pulled down his glasses. “No. What’s repo work?”

“I get it. It’s when people don’t pay what is due and they get their belongings repossessed,” Mizuki spoke up. “Am I not correct?”

“You’re clearly right on this, girly,” Repo Mantis grinned at her. “You and your friends do a job for me today, and I’ll let you have that moon buggy thing.”

Mikey laughed and stepped towards him again. “We’re in.”

“And…sidebar,” Donnie pulled Mikey by his shell and Mizuki by her shoulder again and lead them away from Repo Mantis. 

“Look, Mikey, repo men have to be mean, and I don’t know if you know this, but you’re kind of a softie.”

“That really hurts my feelings,” Mikey whined. 

Mizuki and Donnie both raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Oh. You have a point. But I can do this. Hard as nails.” Mikey growled. 

The three turned back around to face Repo Mantis. 

“You have a deal,” Mizuki answered and folded her arms. “So who do we need to take back from and what?”

“I need you guys to get an RV from a real shady mutant,” Repo Mantis held up the clipboard and pointed at a picture of a brown and tan RV. “Holes up in the woods on the wrong side of the tracks, in the darkest outskirts of the bad part of town.”

*****

The two brothers and Mizuki followed the directions Repo Mantis had given them and hitched a ride on the back of a truck. When they got to their destination, they jumped out, with Donnie helping Mizuki, and went off to find this mutant Repo Mantis had told them of. 

Mikey walked alongside him and held onto his arm, while Donnie carried Mizuki close to him with her hand. A flashlight shone from one of his arm on his robe shell. 

“I ran a profile on this guy,” Donnie whispered, checking the device on his arm. “Lawless loner, doesn’t pay his bills, lives in this very spooky forest. He is a 98% match for the Spine-Breaking Bandit!” 

Mizuki gasped and suddenly pulled Donnie and Mikey down behind the bushes. They’re near their destination. 

“Pfft. I’m not scared of some no-good dweller!” Mikey said and pulled back some bushes. “Let’s see him!” 

When he pushed aside the bushes, a brown and tan RV appeared in their views. 

“There’s his RV!” Mizuki whispered. 

A light appeared from the inside of the RV. Growling noises welcomed their ears with fear. 

A nose belonging to a mutant poked out from behind the door and growled, revealing sharp front teeth. 

Both brothers and Mizuki screamed quietly and backed away. 

“That is the biggest forest dweller I’ve ever seen!” Mikey said. 

“He is totally gonna break our spines,” Donnie replied and pulled up his device. “Maybe we should call Raph and Leo.”

Mikey stopped him before he could even make a call. “No, no, no, no, no! We got this. Think of all the boss adventures we could have in the moon buggy!” 

“Mikey is right! We can’t call the others!” Mizuki agreed. “We told the Repo Mantis we could do this on our own! And we are doing it!” 

“Ah, all right,” Donnie reluctantly agreed. “if you re dead-set on doing this, we gotta go stealth. Sneak-jitsu 101: never let a spine-breaker get behind you.”

A light suddenly shone on the three inches away from them. They screamed and started to run. 

“No! He’s behind us!” Donnie yelled, taking a screaming Mizuki by the hand. “He is directly behind us!” 

As the mutant followed after them, the turtles and Mizuki ran through the inside of the RV. Various animals barked and growled at them from the darkness as the group scrambled for their lives. 

The three tripped over a tube-shaped feeder and fell to the ground. Mizuki got back up but stopped frozen in fear when she saw the mutant closing in on them. 

“Donnie! Mikey!” She cried. 

The two looked over them and gasped in terror. 

The mutant growled as he held a small animal. He then turned on the light, revealing himself fully as a smiling capybara holding a puppy. 

“Hey, I’m Todd!” He greeted them. “Welcome to Cuddle Cakes Puppy Rescue, the puppy-est place on earth!” 

As he said this, a large horde of little dogs surrounded them and yipped in joy. A puppy Labrador Retriever jumped on Mizuki’s legs and barked at her. 

She tilted her head in perplexion. 

The Spine-Breaking Bandit…is a puppy rescuer?

“Puppies. Right,” Donnie suspiciously glanced at the capybara mutant. “And which one are you having for dinner?” 

“Oh, right! It’s dinner time!” Todd pulled down a rope, which released dog food on the long tube-shaped feeder. 

The puppies surrounded the feeder and started to eat. 

A while later, the turtles and Mizuki are wrapped up in blankets and sitting at a table outside the RV. 

“Hey, you guys want some of my Internet-famous homemade lemonade?” Todd walked out of the RV holding a tray of glasses. “I donate it to folks in Alaska who need a little sunshine.”

Like Donnie and Mikey, Mizuki took the glass in front of her and sipped on it. She hummed in amazement as the flavor appeared on her tongue. 

“It is amazing,” she nodded her head surprised. 

“Wow, this is pretty good,” Mikey said. 

“That honestly tastes exactly like sunshine,” Donnie added. “Wow. And sidebar.”

He gently pushed Mikey and Mizuki off the table and huddled them close to him. 

“Cute puppies, nonprofit lemonade?” He sipped on his glass for a moment. “This is no spine-breaking bandit.”

“He’s the nicest guy in the world,” Mikey joined in. 

“And as much as I hate to be hard as nails on him, we need that RV,” Mizuki whispered. 

“We gotta be tough on him,” Donnie bit on the sliced lemon. “Hard as nails!” 

Mikey sipped on his drink one last time before he narrowed his eyes. “Got it!” 

The three got back up and stomped back to the table. They sat down and gazed at Todd with serious expressions. 

“So, Mr. Todd,” Mizuki started. “We need to get down to business about your RV.”

“Sure thing,” Todd smiled and picked up a puppy. “Could you hold Willis?” 

“Oh, I d—I don’t know if I’m—no!” Mikey yelped when the puppy ran towards him, and he picked it up. “Aww, you little mischief-maker!” 

Mizuki tried to hold back a smile when a smaller Siberian Husky approached her and started to play with her armor. Donnie repeatedly pushed back a Labrador Retriever rolling on the table towards him. 

“Wait a minute,” Mikey moved the puppy away from his face and glanced at Todd. “We’re supposed to be talking about your RV.”

“Look, Todd,” Donnie added. “You haven’t made a payment in two years, and that means—“

“Yeah,” Todd understood. “Turns out all you get for rescuing puppies are million-dollar smiles.”

The puppy who had been rolling himself towards Donnie barked excitedly. 

“Oh, Miho wants a belly rub,” Todd gasped. 

Mizuki gently pushed away the Siberian Husky puppy from her and glared at with seriousness. 

“My hard-as-nails partners and I are here to—“ She and Donnie stopped when they saw Mikey was no longer on the table next to Donnie.

They quickly noticed Mikey with bottles attached to a jacket on him and various puppies all over him. 

“And I’ll call you Indiana Bones, and you Little Bones,” he said a couple of them. 

“Mikey, c’mon,” Donnie began. 

He was unexpectedly hit by a ball and grunted in annoyance, before glancing around and finding another small dog with the ball in his mouth. 

Mizuki held back her laughter.

“Melvin wants to play!” Todd laughed. “Could you toss his ball?” 

“Okay, fine,” Donnie sighed and picked up the ball and the puppy. “I will toss the ball if you give us the keys to your—“

As he threw it, his foot accidentally touched something that squished underneath his step. Mizuki wrinkled her nose and covered her mouth. 

“I am in something squishy,” Donnie panicked lightly. “I am in something squishy!” 

“Oh, yeah, I am so swamped, I never get to clean the yard up. But you guys are so good at this!” Todd got up from the tabled and handed the trio shovels. “Do you want to grab a couple of shovels?”

He handed them the shovels. Mikey, Donnie and Mizuki looked at one another deadpanned. 

An hour or so later, they had finished digging up the excess left by the puppies and placed them in the back of a truck. The truck sped off after they had double checked that they got everything. 

“Why did we just do that?” Mikey asked. 

“I don’t know, Michael,” Donne replied deadpanned. “I don’t know.”

“But at least we won’t have to worry about what we’re going to step in,” Mizuki wiped the sweat from her forehead. 

“Niceness is his superpower!” Donnie exclaimed. 

“Ah, you guys must be tired,” Todd walked out the RV with a tray of new glasses. “Why don’t you sleep over? In the morning, I can hold Sir Chomps-A-Lot while you guys floss his giant fangs.”

One of the puppies jumped up on Mizuki and licked her face. She held him and smiled lightly. 

“That sounds gr—“ she started. 

Donnie cut her off quick and stomped towards Todd. “No, no. We didn’t come here to help you. We came here to repo your RV.”

Mizuki saw some puppies hiding underneath the steps and whining. Her eyes softened. 

“Okay,” Todd said defeated and sat down on the steps. 

He looked to face with teary eyes. “Yeah, I guess me and the pup will just sleep under the stars tonight.”

The sky changed to cloudy and dark a second later. Rain began to pour down on the turtles and Mizuki, who still cradled the puppy in her arms. They glanced at the puppies underneath the steps with disheartened eyes. 

“And every night,” Todd went on. “Through puppy hurricane seasons!” 

Donnie stared at Todd with a seemingly bored expression, Mikey with a heartbroken look. Mizuki felt like she wanted to cry, but she had been taught to never let any powerful emotion take over her. 

A puppy carried an umbrella to Mikey and pulled it open. 

“I can’t do it!” Mikey wailed and took the umbrella and held it over him. 

Mizuki glared at Donnie, whose eyes shrunk at her angered look. He knew exactly what that look meant. 

“Okay, Todd,” he sighed with finality. “How about you trade us that dusty RV, and we make you a new place to sleep, huh?” 

Todd lit up and gasped. “Really? And a place to feed the puppies, and bathe and diaper and play with them?”

“Yes,” Donnie nodded defeatedly. 

Mizuki smirked at him and nodded her head in approval. The puppy she was holding licked her again. 

“I don’t suppose that—“ Todd started again. 

“And there will be robot assistants to help us out,” Mizuki added, then glanced at Donnie raising a convincing eyebrow at him. “Right?”

“R-Right,” Donnie nodded. 

All day and night, the turtles and Mizuki worked hard on the project they promised Todd in exchange for the RV. A few times Mizuki would hang out with the puppies, other times she would help build the place. 

Soon, the new place for Todd and the puppies are finally finished, complete with a large dog park for the little dogs. 

“Thanks, guys!” Todd walked towards the turtles and Mizuki, who are in the RV. “I’ll never forget you!” 

“And come back if you ever want to milk the puppies!” Todd walked up next to Donnie, who rolled up the window. “They have eight nipples!” 

“Don’t need to know that!” Muziki loudly said, covering her blushing face. 

“No, stop! No!” Donnie exclaimed. 

“Hard as nails!” They both cheered as they drove off. 

*****

The turtles and Mizuki arrived back at the junkyard with the RV, Donnie and Mikey both smiling with triumph. 

“All right!” Donnie whooped. 

“We did it!” Mikey cheered. 

“Repo!” Mizuki called from the inside of the RV. “We have that RV delivered to you, as promised.”

“Wax up that moon buggy, baby,” Mikey grinned excitedly. 

“Not bad, not bad,” Repo Mantis placed his hands on hips, smirking. “But what happened was…I ain’t giving it to you.”

“What? Why not?” Mizuki glared at him in shock. 

“Well, turns out, dorky Jupiter Jim fans’ll pay big buck just to sit in that thing,” he answered and gestured to the moon buggy. 

The Jupiter Jim Moon Buggy was now surrounded by a line with a background, which read “Moon Buggy”, behind the vehicle.

“What? We had a deal, buddy-o,” Donnie said, infuriated. 

“Scrapping is a tricking business, kids, and you got tricked,” Repo replied. 

Mizuki growled and pulled out her fans from her knapsacks. She stepped towards him and aimed one of her weapons at him. 

“We are not leaving without that Moon Buggy,” she threatened him. 

Repo harshly pushed her backwards, sending her skidding across the ground. She yelped and grunted in pain when she landed in front of Donnie and Mikey. 

“Hey, that girly’s funny!” Repo Mantis laughed evilly. 

“Hey, you can’t push a girl around like that!” Donnie yelled at him as he helped her up. 

Repo Mantis used his strong hand-claws to pick up two broken parts and glared at the trio. 

“I’m gonna break your legs halfway through…twice!” He snarled and started to try slamming the parts on Donnie and Mizuki. 

Donnie lifted her up and jumped out of the way in time, dodging Repo Mantis’s attack. 

“Mikey, the magnet!” He called to Mikey. 

Mikey used his kusari-fundo to turn on the controls controlling the magnet. It turned on and lifted Repo Mantis up, who still has the parts stuck to his claws. 

Mikey, Donnie and Mizuki raced towards the Moon Buggy as Repo Mantis tried to get down from the magnet. 

“A deal’s a deal, chico!” Mikey called to him. 

“Is there anything magnets can’t do?” Donnie excitedly waved his arms as they got in the blue vehicle. 

Mikey screamed in ecstatic and got in the passenger seat next to Donnie. The latter took Mizuki by the hand and lifted her up in the Moon Buggy. 

“What are you waiting for, guys?” She asked them. “You guys wanted to get this! This is your Moon Buggy now!” 

“Don’t mind if we do,” Donnie and Mikey laughed giddily as they pressed buttons to turn on the car. 

“Tallyho!” Donnie pushed the lever forward, driving the Moon Buggy out of the junkyard. “Eat crater dust, bug man!”

They soon arrived in the streets in the Moon Buggy, which was passed by fast cars and following the pace of a nearby biker. 

“Man, this thing is super slow,” Donnie remarked. 

“Of course it is,” Mikey answered. “It was bull for the gravity of the moon.”

“And I’m starting to wonder why it’s called the Jupiter Jim Moon Buggy,” Mizuki remarked to herself. 

A loud hit from behind prompted them to yelp in fright. She looked over her shoulder find Repo Mantis trailing after them in his truck. 

“Give me back my dork-mobile!” He yelled. 

“Moon-core lasers, activate!” Mikey yelled and pressed a button. 

Mizuki looked behind her. Nothing happened. 

“Crater dust cloud…” he pressed another button. 

Again, nothing occurred. 

“Should that do anything?” Donnie asked. 

Mikey tried pressing various buttons, followed by no occurrence of anything. “Zero-atmosphere Gatling missiles? Ah, nuts.” 

Another hit from Repo Mantis’s truck from behind and the side caused the trio to lurch forward and grunt in pain. 

“This is a movie vehicle,” Donnie realized. “They wouldn’t load it up with advanced lunar artillery.”

“Not unless it’s the moon buggy from “Jupiter Jim’s Third Last Trip to the Moon”,” Mikey pulled out a fake dashboard to reveal a whole new set of buttons. “Which had a fake dashboard to fool the Plutonians!” 

He pulled up a tube, which powered up when he activated it. “Pasta fazool! I’m kicking in Jupiter Jim Titan Turbo Mode!” 

The vehicle suddenly lurched forward more faster, while Donnie drove it to avoid hitting cars and other people. 

“I can’t shake him,” Donnie said.

“I’ll try the Gravity Grease 3000,” Mikey pressed a button, activating the part where it flushed out grease on a few citizens, who groaned in disgust.

“I think we got a bunch of people oily,” Mizuki nervously said. 

The top lid on the Moon Buggy was flipped off automatically when Repo Mantis hit the trio from behind again. 

“Maybe the bug-zapper button,” Mikey suggested. 

“Really?” Mizuki yelled annoyed. 

“There is a bug-zapper but—why didn’t you try that first?” Donnie yelled over the chaos. 

“It didn’t have a 3000 after it.”

Donnie activated one of his robotic arms and wrote down ‘3000’ underneath the words ‘Bug-Zapper’. “There. Happy?”

“Why, thank you,” Mikey smirked and pressed the button. 

Behind the Moon Buggy, a machine shot a bright blue ball of lightning towards Repo Mantis’s truck. A few seconds later, a loud boom, followed by a loud shriek rippled through the atmosphere. 

“Yeah, serves you right,” Mizuki mumbled smugly. 

“Hard as nails!” The trio gave one another high-threes in excitement and drove back to the lair. 

*****

Later on that night, Mizuki found Donnie with the Moon Buggy and holding up a plan with his robotic arms. 

“Are you planning something with that Moon Buggy of yours?” She asked him curiously. 

Donnie yelped in fright and nearly dropped the plans. He calmed down when he saw Mizuki standing there with her hands behind her back. 

“Oh, hey. Mizzy,” he stammered nervously. “Um, I, uh…I was just…looking over the original plans of that car.”

“Those are the new plans,” she stated. 

Donnie quickly hid the plans behind his back and chuckled nervously. “Heh, heh. Everyone’s been assuming that.”

“That’s why you and Mikey wanted that vehicle, isn’t it?” Mizuki smirked mischievously. “Upgrading it to a better, newer car?”

Donnie stumbled upon words that he wanted to say, but it was no use. He sighed in defeat and nodded. 

“All right, you got me,” he replied. “But I want to save it until it’s ready. It’s just, well…”

“You know what? I had a great time today,” Mizuki added. 

Donnie looked at her with a red color on his cheeks. “What? Really?” 

“Well, you did step in the dog doodoo, and things got a bit complicated, but other than that,” Mizuki said. “We did well.”

Donnie smiled at her, his face still red. 

“Anyway, I should leave you alone with your work,” she said and started to walk off. 

She turned around one last time and smiled at him. She then disappeared around the corner. 

Donnie sighed contently before returning to work on the Moon Buggy.


	10. Down with the Sickness

Raph grunted and repeatedly step on the squares while perfectly hitting the arrows on the game screen. The other three and Mizuki watched him with anticipation. 

The numbers kept on going higher with every perfect hit Raph made. 

“I don’t think he got this,” Leo smirked. 

“Hey! Leave him alone,” Mikey said. 

“What? I’m just saying he doesn’t have this.”

“You’re just trying to get in my head,” Raph answered, seat pouring down. 

“Oh, my peaches and cream, he just doubled,” Donnie remarked. 

“Rag! Now!” Raph yelled. 

Mikey dabbed a rag on his forehead. “Have I ever told you how big and beautiful you are?”

“No, but thank you,” the larger turtle grinned. 

“Uh, he is about to set a new high score,” Donnie’s eyes went big. “I can’t watch, but I can’t not watch!” 

“You know what they say about big-time moments?” Leo pushed Donnie down to get closer to the game screen. 

“Yes, I do,” Raph replied. “They say in big-time moments, leaders make—“

“Brain!” Splinter yelled from behind them. 

The screen suddenly changed to words ‘Game Over’, while a voice said it. The turtles and Mizuki didn’t pay mind to it when they saw Splinter clutching his head. 

“Ow, my brain!” He cried in agony. 

The turtles yelled horrified. Mizuki gasped, covering her mouth. 

“No! Why?!” Donnie shouted. 

Splinter gave out a weak sneeze and wiped his nose. 

“Gesundheit,” Leo said. 

“Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, ohmigosh!” Mikey panicked. “Splinter’s a zombie!” 

“Mikey, zombies are interested in other people’s brains,” Donnie told him. 

“Rat Flu. This is not a drill,” Raph said in seriousness. “I repeat, this is not a drill, people.”

*****

The boys and Mizuki circled around him in worry. Donnie used his goggles to check over him, while Leo fanned a rag over Splinter’s head. 

“I feel terrible. Do I feel terrible? Be honest,” Splinter asked them weakly. 

Mizuki took one look at the rat mutant’s face. Snot dripped from his nose, sweat pouring down from his face. 

The teens all groaned in disgust but tried to keep calm smiles. 

“You look great, not horribly sick at all,” Raph answered and close the curtains to his room.

“He’s horribly sick,” he honestly revealed to his brothers and Mizuki. 

“I’m afraid I do not understand,” Mizuki said politely. “What is the rat flu?”

“A flu this intense is going to affect all areas of his brain—I’m talking seven full stages—before Dad’s body naturally heals itself,” Donnie explained to her. 

“Alright, so what are the seven stages?”

“First stage is “Fever”, second is “Wild Rat Man”, third “Captain Cuddle Cakes”…”

He stopped to glare at Mizuki, who giggled at the name, then went on. 

“The fourth is “Ninja Supreme”, the most hardest stage, fifth is “Karaoke Love Songs”, sixth is “Fan fiction” and the last stage...”

Donnie paused and looked down to the floor. “It’s impossible to pass.”

“You guys know what the full seven stages mean?” Raph asked, putting his arms around Leo and Mikey. 

They all nodded in agreement. 

“Another chance to get whatever we want!” Raph finished, smiling. 

“Yeah!” The turtles yelled. 

Mizuki raised an eyebrow at them. 

“But poor Dad,” Mikey moped. “He must feel terrible. But lucky us, he’ll say yes to whatever we ask for!” 

“Only if we make it all the way to the end of the flu,” Donnie piped up. “The elusive stage seven. And we never get there.”

“This year’s going to be different,” Raph added. “Nobody’s getting bit. Nobody’s getting infected.”

“When we do make it to the end, which I’m now calling the Must Say Yes stage,” Leo said. “What are we gonna ask for?”

The three turtles pondered for a second before they turned to look at Raph. 

“Well, this year, I was thinking we could ask for, uh, um, er—uh...”

“He’s got nothing! We’re dead!” Leo yelled. 

“Hey, I got something, all right? Like a, um...”

“Just try and think real hard,” Mizuki encouraged Raph. “If you want something in the world so badly, what would you ask for?”

“Uranium!” Donnie interjected before Raph could answer. “Oh, we should absolutely ask for uranium. I mean, if I could finally get my hands on a little of that, we would be virtually unstoppa—“

“What about a brick oven for pizza?” Mikey popped up in front of Donnie. 

Leo stepped in between the two. “Who’s gonna clean that? What we should ask for is matching unicorn onesies! Those are sick! Pun intended. And I nailed it.”

Donnie, Mikey and Leo both started fighting until Raph instantly shut them up. 

“Enough!” He yelled. “I got this, all right? I’m gonna ask Splinter for something that benefits all of us.”

“This is so exciting!” Mikey smiled. “But terrible for Dad.”

His breath turned foggy. He gasped and let out an exhale. A larger foggy breath escaped from his mouth. 

The turtles and Mizuki glanced at Raph, who breathed on his palm to find the same cold air leaving his mouth. 

“Buckle up, people,” he said. “It’s about to get weird.”

*****

“Stage One: Fever”

The AC in the lair was now turned to cold to help with Splinter’s fever, leaving every other room without any heat. 

A heating light was centered over the turtles and Mizuki. Raph, Donnie, Mikey and Mizuki shivered as Leo sat a few inches from them in a blue winter coat, pants and boots and holding a hot beverage. 

Mizuki snuggled herself closer to Donnie, who wrapped an arm around her to keep her warm. 

“I hate Stage One,” Mikey told himself. “Think warm thoughts. Pizza ovens. Bricks from Italy. Wood chips roasting.”

“We’re only four hours in,” Raph said, shivering. “His fever’s gotta break soon.”

“I didn’t think you were telling the truth about this stage,” Mizuki told him, shaking underneath Donnie’s arm. “I wish I had brought my coat here when I knew it was going to happen.”

“I told you guys to plan ahead. Now I’m sitting here all toasty,” Leo smiled at his brothers and Mizuki and sipped his drink. 

When Splinter stepped out in his bare self, Leo spit out his drink in shock. The other boys and Mizuki gasped in fright. 

“What? Wha—Why?” He yelled. 

“Had to air myself out,” Splinter replied tiredly. 

He then fell face-first on the floor, air hissing and steam rising from his body. 

“Um, is he okay?” Mizuki asked fearfully. 

Splinter growled unexpectedly and stood up on both fours. He started running around the lair, leading the turtles and Mizuki running for their lives. 

“Stage Two: Wild Rat Man”

With the three brothers running around the lair in their protective suits and Splinter chasing them, Donnie and Mizuki were putting on their suits quickly. Leo was struggling to put on his own suit while avoiding Splinter’s attacks. 

“Don’t eat me! Raph’s tastier!” Mikey cried. 

“Suits on! Suits on!” Raph ordered. “Donnie, get the device ready!” 

“Uh, it’s ready,” Donnie placed his helmet on after helping Mizuki with her own suit. “You know, my inspiration for this device was simplicity. Why dress something up with lots of bells and whistles when you could just let it speak for its—“

“I don’t think anyone has time for this, Donnie,” Mizuki interrupted him. 

He understood and pressed a button on his arm device. 

The water from one of the pipes stopped flowing. A large ball rolled out of the pipe, hitting Leo and landing near where Donnie and Mizuki are. 

“Nice!” Raph cheered. “All right, let’s get him inside.”

Leo pulled out a box of pizza and led Splinter to the ball. The blue bandana turtle threw the box in the ball, with Splinter diving after it and snarling. 

Donnie closed the ball tightly. 

“Okay, this should hold him for a while,” he sighed in relief. 

“And are you sure it’s not cruel?” Mizuki asked him. 

“He loves pizza and confined spaces you can barely breathe in,” Raph reasoned. 

Splinter started thrashing around in the ball. Donnie tried to keep it closed while being on top of the sphere. 

“Donnie, is it gonna hold up?” Mikey questioned. 

“Most definitely!” Donnie yelled and was suddenly thrown around with Splinter running in the ball like a hamster wheel. 

The ball instantly sprung up the walls of the lair until it broke apart on the third hit. Splinter crawled up a pipe and disappeared. 

Donnie hit the ground with a grunt on his back. 

“Donnie!” Mizuki rushed over to him. “Are you okay?” 

“Never been better,” Donnie slurred dizzyingly as his eyes rolled around. “All I’m seeing in front of me is, uh...three to four Mizukis standing over me.”

“Maybe you should lie down for a moment,” she chuckled. 

“Mikey, follow me and be careful,” Raph ordered. “We can’t afford to lose anyone before stage seven.”

“I thought we all agreed it was now called the Must Say Yes stage,” Leo argued. 

“It would be easier for me to be careful if I knew you were gonna ask for a pizza oven,” Mikey smiled. 

“I’m still thinking!” Raph yelled. 

“Quick question: is uranium still on the table?” Donnie added. 

Mizuki shook her head while giggling. 

Raph and Mikey headed to where Splinter had gone off to so they could get him. Mizuki and Leo stayed behind with Donnie, who regained his consciousness a moment later. 

The trio began to take off the suits and breathing clearly again. 

“Ugh, these things do not breathe,” Leo remarked. 

“I know,” Mizuki agreed. 

“Uh, now, are we sure we’re safe?” Donnie asked them, holding his helmet. 

“Calm down. We’re fine,” Leo reassured them. “Raph and Mikey have it under control—“

“Run!” Raph and Mikey yelled, running past them. “Stage three! Stage three!”

Splinter rushed towards them, his arms wide open and a big dopey grin growing. 

“Oh, little baby blue! Come to papa!” He said. 

“Time for running again!” Donnie yelled and took Mizuki by the hand. 

“Suits on! Suits on!” Raph demanded desperately. 

Donnie and Mizuki both put their suits back on, while Leo struggled again to fully put on his protective uniform. 

“Why weren’t you in your suits?!” Raph asked the three.

“It was Leo!” Donnie answered. 

“No one forced you to, Donnie!” Leo slipped but got back up and placed his headwear on. “Ugh! What’s that smell?”

“I love you this much!” Splinter appeared beside Leo and hugged and kissed him. 

Mizuki yelped when he appeared out of nowhere. 

“No, no, you don’t! I’m your least favorite!” Leo denied and fell to the ground behind the others. 

“Uh, Leo’s infected,” Donnie nervously stated. “Quarantine him!” 

The three brothers and Mizuki trapped Leo in his room by zipping up a protective barrier over the hole. 

“Hey, you need me to get to the Must Say Yes stage,” Leo tried to plead. “We need to ask for the onesies—“

He wobbled side to side as the effects of the flu overtook him. “Whoa, it is really hot. Is there a fire? There’s a fire here, right? The floor is made of lava?”

Raph pressed a button, releasing a cool foam-like liquid on Leo, who screamed. 

“Down to four,” Raph said. 

“Hey, by the way, why’d you take his swords?” Mikey asked Mizuki. 

“That is just in case he thinks about escaping with them,” she replied, placing them near the hole of Leo’s room. 

“All right, guys, let’s be careful so the rest of us can make sure we what we want,” Raph said. “Who’s got eyes on the package?”

Mikey gasped when he noticed Splinter gone, apart from Leo’s shredded suit and a dummy with kiss marks. 

“I lost him,” Mikey said. 

A puff of smoke clouded the lair. Splinter appeared clad in a ninja outfit. 

“Stage 4: Ninja Supreme”

He threw knife stars at Mizuki, who yelped and went to cover herself. Raph protected her by using his fonta to prevent the stars from hitting her. 

“Hot soup!” Splinter cried and slashed the four’s uniforms with a katana sword. 

Their uniforms instantly fell apart from being cut by Splinter’s katana. Raph, Mikey and Donnie covered themselves embarrassed. 

“Where’d Splinter go?!” Raph searched for any sign of him. 

The lights shut down on its own. The turtles and Mizuki gasped, unable to find their way through the dark. 

Mizuki felt hands on her butt and yelped. 

“Guys! I think I felt him!” Mikey yelled. 

“That’s my butt!” She slapped him in the face, her face red. 

She heard grunts and loud thuds from the side of her and quickly turned around. She eventually felt an arm and helped him up. 

“Would everyone please stop hitting me?” Donnie said and turned on his goggles. 

“Now I’ve really got him,” Mikey grunted as he had Raph in a neck-hold. “Take that, itchy fuzzball.”

“Donnie, do you see him?” Mizuki asked him. 

Donnie groaned and took off his goggles. “No! Not my lab!”

“I’m going with you!” Mizuki pulled out her fans. 

Donnie stopped her before she got them out fully. “No! You have to stay here. I can’t risk you getting infected. Just try and keep Mikey and Raph from killing each other, I’ll be right back.”

Mizuki watched him climb up to his lab and disappear around the corner. She then separated Mikey and Raph from one another and held them back. 

“Will you guys knock it off?!” She sternly told them. 

She aimed one of her fans up to the sunroof and threw it up to open it. Light shone from above, the darkness fading away. 

From the lab, she heard a loud crash and gasped. Raph and Mikey, who also heard the noise, looked up in her direction. 

“Donnie, you hit?” Raph asked. 

Donnie landed next to Mikey and Mizuki with a bandage on his arm. “No, no. I’m fine. I just cut myself on that janky old door. Everything’s okay.”

“Are you sure Splinter didn’t get you?” Mizuki questioned him worriedly. 

Donnie hesitated and turned to Raph. “Raph, did you decide what we’re gonna ask for?”

“Yeah, I got it,” Raph grinned. “I’m gonna ask for—“

Splinter from above cleared his throat, cutting off Raph before he could say anything more. He landed on one of the floors with a microphone in his hand. 

“Um, didn’t you say there was a stage where he—“ Mizuki turned to Donnie, who nodded fearfully. 

“Yep.”

“Stage 5: Karaoke Love Songs”

Raph, Mikey and Mizuki covered their ears as hard as they could, with Splinter singing horribly in the background. 

“I can’t feel my ears!” Mikey wailed. “Nothing is worth this!” 

“I don’t think I would forget without having to listen to his voice in one of those songs!” Mizuki loudly said. 

“We’re so close,” Raph groaned. “Only two stages left.”

“And three totally healthy turtles and one totally healthy human left,” Donnie said. “Man, why is it so hot in here?

Mizuki took one glance at him and gasped. Snot ran down his nose and sweat was pouring from his forehead. 

Mikey, Raph and Mizuki locked Donnie in his own room and sprayed him with the cool foam-like liquid. Mizuki put down his staff near the hole. 

“Oh, you’re gonna get squat from Splinter without Donnie, not without ol’ Donnie!” He yelled and banged on the clear barrier. “I’m the brains behind this operation!” 

“And I’m the young, tough damsel who will be worried about your safety if you keep this up,” Mizuki replied to him. 

“Uh, what stage are we on now?” Mikey nervously asked. 

“Stage 6: Fan Fiction”

Raph and Mizuki watched Splinter plan some fan fiction about Jupiter Jim, Lou Jitsu, hot soups, assassins, a noodle shop and anything else he could think of. Mikey wrote down on a paper for the fan fiction. 

“This is amazing. Keep going,” Mikey said. 

“We’re almost at stage seven,” Raph realized happily. “This is the closest I’ve ever been to success, uh, ever.”

He went to give Mikey a high-three. However, Mikey sneezed and missed. 

Raph and Mizuki quarantined him in his room, the young girl taking away his kusari-fundo for safety measures. 

“We’re done,” Mikey said. “Raph is totally gonna blow this. He has no idea what to ask for, which means—“

He started jumping around and fanning himself. “Getting hot. It’s like I’m on the sun here.” 

Mizuki pressed the button to spray the cool foam-like liquid on Mikey. 

Raph chuckled and turned to face Splinter. “I’m not gonna blow this.”

“Raphael,” Leo called from his quarantine. “I love you, my brother, but you do tend to fail in big moments. Pish-posh. But that’s what makes you you. Now bring it in, buddy. I’m gonna hug you til a smile comes out.”

‘The third stage,’ Mizuki thought. 

“Enough!” Raph yelled. “Raph’s got this, ‘cause in big-time moments, leaders make big-time shots, and I’m big-time!” 

“Raph! He must say yes! Make him say yessah!” Donnie hissed from behind the barrier. 

“He’s going to, Donnie! Just hang tight!” Mizuki reassured him. 

“Don’t mess this up, Raph,” Raph told himself. “Don’t mess this up.”

“Don’t forget we only get to ask for one thing, my little Raph-a-doodle,” Leo called. 

“I know exactly what I’m asking for,” Raph rubbed his hands together and grinned. 

“Stage Seven: Must Say Yes”

Raph and Mizuki both stared down at Splinter, who sniffled and moaned. 

“Master Splinter, I know you will say yes to whatever I ask for,” Raph started. “I want you to give—“

“Raph-a-doodle a hug!” Leo cried. “Everybody loves hugs!”

“What?!” Mizuki whipped and glared at him. 

“What?! No! Anything but that!” Raph yelled. 

“Come here!” Splinter jumped towards Raph, laughing. 

Mizuki stepped back in time before Raph fell down with Splinter hugging and kissing him all over his face. She laughed and held onto her sides. 

Raph sneezed and moaned.

“Ooh, flu! Papa wants a new bike!” Splinter said and winked. 

‘Today was an eventful day,’ Mizuki thought, giggling.


	11. Bonus Chapter (If Mizuki was infected with the flu)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to add a little bonus chapter between the main ones, and there are gonna be a few more on the way. 
> 
> There will be updates soon, so hang tight

The turtles locked her up in her quarters and placed the protective layer in front of the door. 

“Let me know why you are doing this?” Mizuki asked them through the barrier in her bedwear. “I mean, I’ve never been sick like this before. I’ve taken care of myself...”

“You kidding me? Look at you,” Donnie cut her off worriedly and showed her the thermometer. “You have a fever of about 101 degrees, you’re burning up. You shouldn’t be out there with people when you’re sick.”

“Will not,” Mizuki sassed, folding her arms in front of her chest. 

“Will too. The fever is contagious, you need to rest up.”

“Donnie, I swear to God, if you do not let me out, I will—“ she stopped and wiped the sweat from her forehead. “Oh, jeez. It feels like I’m standing on the sun here.”

A coat of blue cloud-like foam was sprayed on her and she yelped in shock from the cold substance. 

“Yep, that said it,” Leo remarked. 

“We’ll be back with some medical supplies, Miz,” Raph said to her. “Just hang tight around here.”

Donnie turned on the AC in Mizuki’s room and lowered it to the lowest temperature as possible. 

“All right, so I’ve checked over her body,” he began to his brothers. “It’s not fully infected, but it still needs time to heal fully.”

“So it’s not like the rat flu? It’s normal, right?” Miley asked anxiously. 

“No. Thankfully it’s not like the rat flu. But it’s normal for humans like Mizuki to get sick,” Donnie replied. “She’ll require constant care and rest until she gets better—“

“I’d say Donnie stays with her,” Leo interjected, smirking. 

“What?!” The purple bandana turtle shrieked. 

“I also vote on Donnie staying with Mizuki until she’s better,” Mikey raised his hand quickly. 

Donnie turned towards a smirking Raph with his arms folded. “Oh, please don’t vote for me to stay with her...”

“Donnie...you’re staying with her,” Raph finally said. 

Donnie groaned in defeat and face-palmed himself. 

“We’ll call and check up on you every day until she’s better. And while we’re at it, we can get medical supplies to help Mizuki heal faster.”

“No, guys, you can’t do this to me...” Donnie pleaded with them desperately. 

“We’ll be back before you know it, buddy,” Leo quickly exited the apartment building with Raph and Mikey in tow. 

His little smirk was the last thing Donnie saw before the door slammed shut. 

He groaned and smacked himself in the face. Left in the building with a girl whom he cares about, who is now sick with the flu...and who is now asleep on her bed. 

He sighed, smiling at her sleeping form. “Well, at least she won’t cause any trouble while she’s asleep.”

*****

Throughout the week, the brothers came over to check up on Mizuki and sometimes would fight off crime. Even as her fever was getting better, they’d insisted on her staying at her quarters so she doesn’t get worse. 

Mizuki would have argued with the brothers that she can handle herself, but with the strength having left her from the start, she knew it was no point to persist their worries. In fact, she had no idea how it had been since someone who is like a family to her worry about her health when she fell ill. 

She wanted to think it was Donnie who worries about her more than the others. 

He’d kept checking up on her every three hours, always reminding her to drink plenty of water and if she had eaten anything yet. He’d check her temperature to see if it had gone down any further

“Someone has to take care of you, Mizzy. It’s for the good of your health,” he’d tell her whenever she would reassure him that he doesn’t need to do this.

Even though she hated to admit it, Donnie is adorable when he is like this. 

*****

“You are conversing with Donatello,” Donnie greeted on his phone.

“Hey. Just wanna check up on Mizzy,” Leo said. “How is she feeling?”

“So far, her fever’s gone, but she still needs to rest for a day or two.”

“I can hear you, Donatello,” Mizuki called. 

Donnie pressed the button for the blue foam-smoke, smirking, and she yelped in the background. 

“Can we just go visit her for a while? I miss fighting crime with her,” Mikey said from behind Leo. 

“Sorry, lil’ bro. Mizzy’s gotta get some rest first,” Leo patted Mikey on the head. “Is she giving you any trouble?”

“No, she’s just being stubborn and sick,” Donnie answered glanced at Mizuki, who playfully glared at him. 

“That’s what we wanted to know. Well, we gotta go. See ya later, buddy!” Leo quickly said, smirking. 

“No, wait—“

Leo ended the call before Donnie said any more. 

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. 

“He’s been thinking about us together, isn’t he?” Mizuki grinned at him. 

“Apparently, he has,” Donnie nodded, annoyed at his brother. “Trying to ship us together.”

“…Well, I don’t mind hanging out with you,” Mizuki added, blushing. 

He looked up at her, his cheeks turning red. “What? Really?”

“Of course. In fact, if I haven’t met you and your brothers, who knows what would have happened.”

“Can’t imagine that.”

Mizuki chuckled and crossed her arms. “Anyway, um, I know that you are trying to take care of me for a while, so...thanks...”

Donnie smiled at her and blushed. “No probbles.”

*****

“You’ve been trying to get Donnie and Mizuki together, are you?” Raph raised an eyebrow at Leo. 

“Yes,” the red-eared turtle answered confidently. 

“Well, don’t, unless it’s for a good purpose.”

Leo pouted at the snapping turtle. 

“Is Donnie gonna be okay when we get there?” Mikey asked them nervously, clutching a plastic bag close to him, as he walked alongside them to Mizuki’s home. 

“Calm down,” Leo said. “He’ll be fine. He’s got it under control.”

They soon arrived at Mizuki’s apartment with the medicines needed for her fever. Raph knocked on the door, Leo and Mikey behind him. 

“Donnie? Everything okay in there?” Raph opened the door, only to stop in his tracks halfway in. 

Leo and Mikey looked to where he is staring at and nearly gasped. 

Donnie sleeping peacefully next to Mizuki on her bed, his robo-shell resting on the side. Her hand over his chest, and his arm around her waist. His three-fingered hand laying on her hand. 

“Ohmigosh! That’s so cute!” Mikey gushed and swiftly pulled out his phone, taking a picture of the two. 

“Called it,” Leo smiled victoriously. 

Raph hummed and shook his head, smiling at his brother resting.


	12. The Fast and the Furriest

Lights shone on Donnie, who stood in front of a large curtain. Raph, Mikey, Leo, and Mizuki were sitting on the floor and watching him from their spots. 

“Mizuki and brethren,” Donnie started. “Before you is my masterpiece, the culmination of my myriad skills united in one glorious enterprise! Lady and gentlemen, behold the—“

“Ooh, is it the drill?” Leo interrupted him. “Is it that drill you made when we were fighting those silverfish?”

“Uh, no, no, that—that’s still in beta,” Donnie shook his head. 

“Lame!” Raph said. 

“But this is better, much, much better. I give you the—“

“Is it an even cooler, even bigger drill?” Mikey asked. 

“No, not a drill!” Donnie replied, almost infuriated. “This is the big surprise.”

He pulled on the rope, which opened up the curtain behind him to reveal an empty sewer tube, unbeknownst to Donnie. 

“Ta-stinkin’-da!” 

“Yay! A sewer tube full of nothing!” Mikey cheered. 

“Huh?” Donnie turned around and Mizuki could tell he was confused. 

“I’m so proud of you,” the box turtle went on, clasping his hands.

“What? Where did it go?” The soft-shell turtle grabbed his head and fell to his knees on the ground. 

“Donnie? What’s wrong?” Mizuki became concerned and walked to him. “What were you trying to show us?”

“I built us an amazing vehicle out of the moon buggy,” he told her and slammed his fist on the floor. 

“You mean the one you and Mikey had taken from Repo?” 

“Who stole our Turtle Tank?!” Donnie yelled, his voice resonating across the sewer tube. 

*****

The turtles and Mizuki stood on the rooftops later on after frantic searching across the lair. Donnie stared down below the building, with Mizuki comforting him. 

She knew how long and hard he had worked on his big project. She understood how proud he was of it when he had finally finished it. And now it’s been stolen. 

“Hey, this is a real problem, Donnie,” Raph said. “Not only did they steal your tank thing...”

“Now you can finish your drill,” Mikey interjected. 

“Mikey,” Mizuki told him sternly. 

“But they also must know where our lair is,” Raph continued. “It must be somebody who’s penetrated our inner circle.”

“Maybe even someone we’ve known for years...” Donnie narrowed his eyes. 

*****

Donnie kicked down the door to the apartment and barged in with his brothers and Mizuki behind him. The three then searched the place for the Turtle Tank, while Mizuki stood beside Donnie. 

“Alright, you! Where’s our Turtle Tank?” He demanded to April. 

She was sitting on the couch, with Mayhem, who has hair curls on his furry head. 

“Hi, Donnie. You have nine seconds to tell me why you just broke my door,” April smiled widely and narrowed her eyes, while Mayhem glared at them. 

“Someone stole Donnie’s Turtle Tank,” Leo replied. 

“Oh, I see,” April laughed. “So as your best friend, you naturally suspect me.”

“She gets it,” Mikey added. 

“Ho-ho, don’t give me that,” Donnie scoffed. “You’re the only one who could have taken it.”

“Donnie, I hate to be the voice of reason here,” Mizuki stepped up next to him. “But I’ve known April for a while now, and she wouldn’t do something like this.”

“Oh, Mizuki. Mizzy, Mizzy, Mizzy,” Donnie shook his head and pinched her on the cheek gently. 

Mizuki glared at him, rubbing her cheek.

“I don’t know if you know this, but the people we love can also turn to the dark side and betray us.”

“Okay, if you say so,” she shrugged and stepped to the side. 

April stood up from the couch and picked up her bat, hitting it gently against her palm. “Three...”

The turtles then became scared. “Two...”

“One...” April still grinned. 

A loud thwack and cries from the turtles came from the building. 

They both fell from April’s apartment, except for Mizuki, who landed safely next to them. 

“You guys okay?” She asked them. 

Donnie cracked his neck and nodded. “Okay, good news, our inner circle is secure.”

“Sorry, April! Movie night later?” Mikey called up to April. 

“Your treat,” she blew him and his brothers a kiss before slamming her window closed. 

The turtles and Mizuki sat in a circle outside April’s apartment. 

“Alright, guys, who’s our next suspect?” Donnie asked. 

“It’s gotta be someone who knows we exist,” Raph pondered. 

“You mean besides me and April?” Mizuki added. 

“Splinter!” Mikey gasped and pulled out a small splinter from his head. “Must be from April’s bat.”

“It’s gotta be another mutant,” Leo said. “And I know where we can find a mutant: the mutant pizza place!” 

*****

Soon, they arrived at the graffitied wall entrance of the pizza place. 

“Stand back,” Raph said. “Raph’s got this.”

He moved his hand, a blue flame appearing. The portal opened up and the group stepped in. 

“Okay, Leo, do your thing.”

“Ah, the ol’ “smooth urban cop digging for info in a restaurant” routine,” Leo smirked and smoothed his head. “Watch and learn, babies.”

“I’m going to ask someone in there if they have seen it,” Mizuki said and walked in the restaurant with Leo. 

She searched the entire restaurant until her eyes landed on a familiar figure a few tables away. 

“Yami!” She practically called. 

The lizard mutant waitress heard her and turned around, a small grin appearing on her scaly face. 

“Hey, squirt,” Yami greeted her. “What can I do for you?”

“Listen, I’m going to be truthful and it’s important,” Mizuki explained. “One of my friends has the Turtle Tank he made stolen, and we’re trying to find whoever did it. You wouldn’t happen to know who took it, by any chance?”

“Wish I could help you, but I don't know someone who would do that,” Yami answered. “But I’ll let you know if I do, okay?”

“Well, thanks, anyway,” Mizuki nodded and walked back to where Leo is asking a baby mutant. 

By the time she got there, the baby mutant roared at Leo, who yelped and backed away into her. 

“Oh, come on!” Leo yelled. 

“Enough with your stupid routine, Leo!” Donnie exclaimed and shoved past him. “I’m finding out which one of you wise guys took our tank, or I’m smashing everything in this dump!”

He then tried to lift a table in order to throw it over, but since it was too heavy and is already occupied by a couple of patrons, he was struggling. 

“Is this really necessary, Donnie?” Mizuki whispered to him. 

“If it means getting closer to the Turtle Tank, then yes,” he grunted and tried to pick the table up again. 

“Eh, pepino, your bad-cop routine leaves something to be desired,” Bone-Man folded his arms. 

“Oh, no, no, no, no,” Mikey chuckled. “We’re not the police.”

“You are not the police, you say?” Bone-Man smirked, green flames appearing behind him. 

The turtles screamed as they were thrown back out into the human world and grunted when they hit the ground. Mizuki stepped out a few moments later, her hands on her hips. 

“So I explained the whole situation to Bone-Man and the patrons properly,” she said. “They have not seen the Turtle Tank around here. But at least Bone-Man is understanding.”

“Aw, man, why can’t anyone throw us into a nice pile of trash?” Leo rubbed his bruised butt. 

“So you know this girl mutant?” Mikey asked the blue-haired girl, gesturing about Yami. 

“Um, yeah. We met back when you guys did the Maze of Death, which Leo has tricked you into,” Mizuki giggled at Leo, who glared at her.

“Ugh! Hey, Donnie, why didn’t you just put a tracking device in the Turtle Tank?” Raph asked the softshell turtle. “You put a tracking device in salami paper.”

“Oh, I was getting to that,” Donnie replied. 

Mizuki groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Oh, great.”

“But then he realized he did install the shopping cart protocol!” Donnie raised his tech staff and laughed. 

Leo and Raph looked at one another. 

“A what now?” Mizuki stared at him. 

Donnie pushed a button on his staff, which beeped. 

“A ‘shopping cart protocol’?” Mizuki pondered, then her eyes lit up. “Isn’t that like a security tracker?”

“Bingo,” Donnie smiled, getting up. “I programmed the Turtle Tank to stop if it goes beyond a set perimeter.”

“Genius,” she beamed. “Let’s go find it.”

*****

The turtles and Mizuki walked on the rooftops later on to find the Turtle tank, and hopefully the person/mutant who took it.

Donnie held up his staff, a blinking dot on a small screen showing them the location of the vehicle. 

“Okay, we should find the tank if we just track the perimeter of the shopping cart protocol’s limit,” Donnie said. 

“Whoa, are we gonna need a protractor?” Mikey asked with wonder. 

“No,” Donnie shook his head. 

“An abacus?”

“Literally never.”

“A bag full of sausages?”

“Man, I don’t know how your mind works,” Donnie sighed, then stopped and grinned. “Hey, look, there the tank is.”

Mikey gasped and wrapped his arms around Raph and Donnie. “Whoa! Donnie, nice work!”

“She’s big and beautiful!” Raph remarked happily. 

“We are getting a lot of parking tickets on that thing!” Leo said. 

Mizuki took a better look at the Turtle Tank Donnie had worked on. 

The Jupiter Jim Moon Buggy, except it was different than the last time she saw it. 

The vehicle had a shell-shaped roof-like top with a yellow car on the top. The vehicle was now painted different colors with new wheels added. 

“Donnie, it’s amazing. You’re a true genius,” Mizuki smiled at him. 

Donnie blushed and grinned at her. “Thanks, Miz.”

“Uh, hey, guys? What’s Dad doing down there?” Leo asked nervously. 

The others saw Splinter walking from the Turtle Tank and humming. 

“It was Splinter the whole time? I didn’t think he would do something like this,” Mizuki remarked. 

“Oh, I should’ve known he took it,” Donnie said. “You just can’t trust adults these days. You leave the keys to your brainchild lying around, and the next thing you know—”

“Meats Sweats?” Raph added. 

The turtles and Mizuki saw Splinter jumping into a food truck, a familiar mutant looking around before closing the back doors. 

“Him again?” Mizuki gasped. 

“Oh, that’s bad news,” Raph said. “Hey, we gotta move, or Dad’ll be toast, or spread on toast. Let’s go.”

They leaped off the rooftops towards the Turtle Tank. As soon as they landed next to the large vehicle, Donnie quickly checked over it for any damages. 

He sighed in relief when he found no scratches. “Oh, thank goodness for that.”

“Donnie, I have to know, why do you think Splinter would steal the Turtle Tank?” Mizuki asked him. 

“Well, probably because I’ve been frying the TV so he could only watch educational shows,” he explained to her as they walked towards Meats Sweats’s van. 

“I don’t think I see anything wrong with that,” she commented. 

At that moment, the van suddenly lurched forward and drove off through the city. 

“No!” Mizuki cried. 

“They’re getting away!” Raph exclaimed. 

Donnie and the others turned to the Turtle Tank, and the purple loving turtle smirked. “Turtle Tank time!” 

Soon, the brothers and Mizuki sped through the city after Meat Sweats’s van. They caught up with the truck behind them, and Donnie put the Tank on auto-mode. 

“Now that autopilot is engaged, allow me to show you around my state-of-the-art Turtle Tank,” Donnie bean explaining and pointed at a yellow map of the city lighting up. “Over there is navigation.” 

“Down here is a—wait for it—bowling ball launcher,” he gestured towards a row of bowling balls. “Strike! And there is the—“

“Soft serve ice cream machine?” Mikey’s eyes went big as an ice cream flowed out of the machine. “Tell me there’s a sprinkle cannon.”

“Ooh, good one,” Donnie lit up. “Rainbow and chocolate.”

A hard hit from outside the Turtle Tank nearly prompted everyone to yell and stumble around. 

“Donnie, watch the road!” Raph shouted. 

“I wouldn’t need to if you would just take your seat,” Donnie smiled and pushed a button on his arm device. 

A large seat with analog controllers lowered from above. 

“It’s the giant red one with your name and your exact lumbar settings.”

“That’s beautiful,” Raph beamed. 

“Captain, the con is yours,” Donnie said. 

The two fist-bumped one another before Raph got onto his seat and was pulled up to the ceiling. He shifted gears, driving the Turtle Tank to go faster. 

Another hard hit from outside caused Mizuki to yelp and nearly stumble down. Donnie caught her in time by the waist and pulled her close to him. 

“Don’t think I forgot about you,” he beamed at her. 

He pressed another button to reveal another seat with the same analog controllers and a cannon outside the Tank. 

“Oh, my God,” Mizuki gasped in surprise. 

“A special cannon, capable of firing both small blasts and big blasts powerful enough to knock out enemies,” Donnie told her. “But you can use it after we try and coax Dad out.”

“Good plan,” Mizuki nodded, grinning. 

They both went up to the top floor and looked out the window together. They noticed a familiar pink tail hitting Meats Sweats in the face. 

“I know you’re in there!” Donnie shouted. “Dad, I can see your tail! I—“

He groaned and clasped his hands together, forcing a smile. “Oh, Papa, if you surrender now, there shan’t be any consequences.”

“That is a lie! I taught him that one,” they heard Splinter say. 

“You’re with a dangerous mutant, Splinter! Meats Sweats just want to eat you!” Mizuki cried next to Donnie. 

A few seconds later, the van hit the Turtle Tank to try and drive them off the road. 

“Looks and sounds like he’s too stubborn to listen to us,” Mizuki commented. 

“We gotta stop that truck!” Raph said. 

Donnie climbed up to his own seat and pulled down a helmet with a target locker. “I’ll blast it with the boom cannons!” 

He locked onto the food van, but Leo and Mizuki, both on screens, appeared before he could fire. 

“Donnie, Dad’s in that thing!” Leo told him. 

“Can I at least go semilethal?” Donnie asked. 

“No,” Mizuki firmly said, while his brothers gave him serious looks. 

“You never let me shine!” Donnie whined. “Harpoon hooks it is.”

Harpoon hooks shot from the Turtle Tank and locked on to the van. Mikey and Leo stood on the chains, steadying themselves. 

“Okay, Sweaty Spaghetti, give us our dad back!” Mikey commanded. 

“Yeah, hand over the fugitive!” Donnie said. 

The back of the van doors opened, and Meats Sweats smirked evilly at them. 

“I don’t think so. You have a reservation in my stomach, a party of six, seating now.” He pressed a button, the back of the van opening up with several cages of mutants trapped inside. 

“Ooh, is he finally gonna teach us how to make that pork risotto?” Mikey asked excitedly. 

“Never a good sign,” Mizuki replied anxiously as she sat down on her own seat with the cannon. 

“Since I assume you won’t go down without a fight,” Meats Sweats pulled off his glove to reveal his tendrils. “Allow me to choose my weapon.”

He pulled out a mutant snake, which hissed and cried, as he absorbed its power. 

“He’s getting the mutant snake’s power,” Leo said. 

“Oh, crap,” Mizuki muttered. 

Meats Sweats began to spit out acid towards the turtles. One of the spit landed on the windshield. 

“Hey, watch out! It’s a spitting cobra!” Raph yelled. 

“Hey, watch the paint, bucko!” Donnie exclaimed. 

“We’ll worry about it later, Donnie! Let’s get him!” Mizuki fired small blasts at Meats Sweats. 

He was able to avoid a few of her shots while nearly spitting acid at her. 

“Donnie, what else you got on that thing?” Raph asked as he wiped the acid from the windshield. 

“Oh, I’ve been wanting to try this,” Donnie smirked and pressed a button on his joystick. 

The hood of the car popped open and the bowling ball launcher changed to its form. The bowling ball in the front was launched at Meats Sweats and slammed into his face. 

“Strike!” Mizuki cheered. 

Leo and Mikey chuckled. 

Meats Sweats blubbered and shook his head, growling. He then continued to spit out acid at the three, while Mizuki shot blasts at the acid aimed at her, the toxic liquid dissolving from the hits. 

A bit of acid landed on the chains, dissolving it and breaking it apart. 

“Oh, no!” Leo and Mikey both cried. 

The chains finally broke and the two turtles flew back to the Turtle Tank. 

“Mikey, your kusari-fundo!” Mizuki shouted to Mikey. 

He lit up and threw his weapon towards the van. “Power-whip-jitsu!” 

The ball end flew past Meats Sweats and was now attached to the floor of the vehicle. Mikey held both lines and Leo standing on his arms. 

“Come on, Meats Sweats, are you even trying?” Leo taunted. 

Meats Sweats snarled and tried to fire acid at Leo and Mikey again. The red-eared turtle tried to make a portal while avoiding the acidic shots. 

“Come on, portal,” Leo muttered. “Come on, portal.”

“Come on, Leo! My armpits are getting tired!” Mikey cried. 

“You can do this, Leo! Just concentrate as hard as you can!” Mizuki encouraged him. 

Leo narrowed his eyes and successfully made a portal with his sword. The acid flew through the blue gate instead of towards Mikey and Leo.

“Got it!”

Another portal opened up behind Meats Sweats, who turned around. When he did, the acid that was fired from him now landed his eyes. He yelled in pain and grabbed at his face. 

“Let’s get him!” Raph pushed the controls forward, driving the Turtle Tank to go faster. 

Meats Sweats pressed a button to the cages holding the other mutants hostage. “So long, dinner. I’ll just get takeaway.”

The mutant animals slithered/flew/ran off the food van. 

Raph yelled and pushed on the brakes, stopping the Turtle Tank in time. The other mutant animals ran away, growling and screeching in fear. 

Raph sweated nervously and sighed in relief. 

Mizuki slammed her fists on the controls frustrated. “We lost Meats Sweats and Splinter. Now we’ll never catch them.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about it,” Mikey smirked on the screen. 

Splinter was thrown into the road and out of Meats Sweats’s van, which drove off leaving him behind. 

“Wait, wait! Don’t leave me!” Splinter begged, reaching out to where the pig mutant had driven off to. 

Donnie tapped his foot on the ground, which caught Splinter’s attention. He chuckled nervously when he saw Donnie and Mizuki, both of their arms folded and angered looks on their faces, while Mikey, Leo, and Raph glared at him. 

“You! You reckless, irresponsible—“ Donnie angrily pointed at the rat mutant, who hung his head low. 

Mizuki still had her arms crossed in front of her and stood next to Donnie, who proceeded to lecture Splinter harshly. 

“You are watching the Science of Chairs channel for a month, young man! Followed by the Long Division Channel and the Memorizing Pi channel! Spoiler alert, the 99th digit is seven!”


	13. Mascot Melee

“What’s the word? Am I clear?” Raph asked. 

“Looks bueno from here,” Leo looked through the periscope of the Turtle Tank. “You are a go for Operation: Let’s Hope Raph Comes Back Alive.”

“Would you stop calling it that?” Raph sounded irritated on the radio. 

Mizuki elbowed Leo on the side and rolled her eyes at him. 

“A first-ever exploratory expedition in daylight!” Donnie exclaimed excitedly. “They are gonna name sewers after you, pal.”

The others and Mizuki can see Raph in the middle of New York Times Square in his hippo from the last time they fought with Hypno-Potamus, numerous people surrounding him and walking around. A few other mascots stood in the crowd, having their pictures taken and money given for tips. 

“I fit right in with all the mascots,” Raph admitted. “This suit works great in Times Square.”

“Totally, but for the record, I still think my trench coat idea would’ve worked,” Mikey leaned, his hands behind his head. 

“Mikey, we’ve been over this,” Mizuki playfully argued with him. “His body’s too big to fit in that trench coat.”

“Ho-ho, there’s the store,” Leo noticed a store which sells robes. 

“Go get Splinter’s birthday gift!” Mikey encouraged, clasping his hands. “Our eyes depend on it.”

“I do not want to think about it right now,” Mizuki shuddered as Mikey hugged her, shaking like a leaf. 

“Steady as she goes,” Leo said to Raph. 

From inside their Turtle Tank, they watch Raph maneuver around the crowd in his hippo suit. 

“Old man on your right,” Leo instructed. 

Raph walked past an elderly man with ease. 

“Kid on your left.”

Raph stopped in front of a child with an ice cream cone in his grasp. 

“He’s got peanut butter ice cream,” Leo realized. 

“Oh, no! Your allergies! Evasive maneuver! Evasive maneuver!” Donnie yelled. 

Raph managed to spin around the kid and stroll away as if nothing had happened. “Close one. Oh, man, this is crazy cool. First turtle to ever skate around a crowd totally unnoticed, and his name is Raph.”

“You’re doing amazingly well, Raph,” Mizuki encouraged him. “Just keep going to your destination, and the goal will be achieved.”

A beep called from the computer. Mikey perked up and saw a message. 

“Video text from April,” Donnie said. 

Mikey opened up the email, which leads them to a video of a turtle’s face in a hippo’s body and chocolate chip cookies floating away from behind. 

“April’s memes are so lit,” Mikey grinned. 

“You know, I bet you think I wouldn’t like cookies coming out of butts, but it turns out I do,” Donnie remarked, smiling. 

Mizuki giggled, watching the video meme, but this time, she didn’t cover her mouth. Donnie smiled at her, his cheeks growing red. 

Leo smirked at him and nudged him in the arm. The latter glared at him playfully. 

“You got this, bud,” Leo said to Raph, who stopped in front of the store he was focused on. “Now go get that robe. Our night terrors end today.”

“Yes,” Raph said, but then gasped in shock. “What? No, no, no. My wallet? My wallet!” 

“Raph, is everything okay?” Mizuki asked, worried. 

He didn’t answer her for a moment. 

“Uh, excuse me. Have you seen my wallet?” She heard him ask someone. “There’s a skull on it and a Teddy Bear Town Frequent Buyer Card inside.”

The turtles and Mizuki looked up when they heard him. 

“Did he just say he lost his wallet?” Donnie raised a suspicious eyebrow. 

“No,” Raph denied, then whispered to someone else. “Have you seen my lost wallet?”

“You did lose it!” Donnie accused. 

“Oh, no!” Mikey whined. 

“Well, you better find it!” Leo warned Raph. 

“Raph, how did you lose it?” Mizuki asked him, now panicking and worried. 

“Why does a hippo have pockets?” 

“Don’t tell me you left it in the lair.”

“Where was the last place you had it?”

“Stop talking. Stop talking!” Raph turned around but accidentally hit a man with a camera. 

The helmet fell off as Raph landed on the ground. 

The crowd walking by stopped and gasped when they saw him. Raph soon realized his disguise was thrown off and was now panicking, unable to move from his fallen place. 

The others and Mizuki also gasped. 

She saw the turtle-potamus meme still playing and lit up when she had an idea. 

“Donnie!” She took him by the shoulder and gestured to the computer. 

His eyes lit up the same way as hers. He quickly rushed over to the computer and quickly hacked into a screen on a long building in Times Square. 

“Your costume, it’s great!” A woman with a baby said. “You’re that turtle-potamus meme, right?”

“What meme?” Raph asked, confused. 

Mizuki internally sighed in exasperation. 

“I mean, yes, meme! Yes, meme! Uh, yes, that meme.”

Raph stood back up from the ground. “Which meme now?”

The crowd pointed up at the screen on the building Donnie had hacked into. The turtle-potamus meme playing over the city. 

“Yes! Uh, I’m that,” Raph admitted confidently. “There’s nothing else in the world I could possibly be.”

The turtles and Mizuki sighed in relief. 

“Thank God,” the blue-haired girl whispered. 

“You’re the best and cleanest Times Square mascot I’ve ever seen,” the mother said to Raph and handed her baby to him. “Here’s my baby. He loves memes.”

The infant stared at Raph and sucked on his pacifier. 

The mother took a picture of them together and replaced her child on Raph’s hand with a five-dollar bill before walking away. 

“Uh, ma’am, you misplaced your $5 bill directly into my palm,” he tried to stop her. 

“No, Raph, you must understand,” Mizuki said to him. “They’re paying you for pictures. It’s perfect!” 

“Keep working the crowd, and maybe you can get back all of our money you lost,” Leo instructed him. 

“Allegedly lost,” Raph mumbled. 

“I heard that,” Mizuki called him out. 

As hours rolled by, more and more people began to pay attention to Raph rather than the other mascots in Time Square. With more pictures, more money is being in his helmet for safekeeping. Some children excitedly stood next to him as their parents flashed their cameras at them. 

The others and Mizuki watched the profits rise from the Turtle Tank in shock and excitement. 

A few mascots stared at Raph and the growing crowd with envy. 

“Hear ye, hear ye, people of Times Square,” Raph declared, holding a kid on his shoulder. “The most famous turtle hippo in the world is available for pictures and quinceañeras.”

“Nobody takes tourists away from Atomic Lass,” a mascot with green hair and dressed in a blue-and-purple outfit growled, holding her hammer. 

A few other mascots, a robot vampire, a blue bird with a captain’s hat, a werewolf dressed in a lumberjack shirt and pants, and a dog with an Afro, walked up next to her. 

“I can’t believe you guys are falling for this hack,” Atomic Lass pointed her hammer at Raph, approaching him. “Memes come and go, but we’ve always been here for you, for a small fee.”

The crowd only stared at the mascots unimpressed. Raph chuckled, knowing that the people are siding with him. 

“Let’s show these newbies how we roll,” Atomic Lass said to the other mascots. 

They began to sing as they strolled over to Raph. 

“My hero, Atomic Lass, may be about to sing,” Donnie quickly looked through the periscope with Leo. 

Mizuki decided to take a quick peek through the scope. She gasped in shock when the sailor bird mascot hit Raph in the head. 

The robot vampire then shoved him from behind. Atomic Lass took the hippo head from beside Raph with her hammer. The dog mascot unexpectedly slammed Raph on the knee with a crowbar. 

The snapping turtle yelled in agony and held his knee. 

“No way,” Leo said, clenching his fist. “Nobody messes with Raph like that—“

He slammed up the periscope, and Mikey fell forward from his seat when he tried to peek through it. 

“…except for us. Suit up! Time to teach those creeps a lesson and earn that money back for Pop’s gift.”

The turtles and Mizuki walked towards a Jupiter Jim poster. A compartment opened up and revealed an antenna headband, a fishbowl, a fanny pack and a princess crown with a no-sleeve golden-rose dress. 

Donnie put the headband on his head and his goggles on his face. 

Mikey grabbed the fishbowl and future-like goggles and put them both on. 

Leo took the fanny pack and strapped it around his waist. “And we’re gonna do it Jupiter Jim style!” 

Mizuki dressed in the golden-rose dress and crown and did a twirling motion in front of the mirror, her hair already up in a messy bun. 

The others did various poses on the door of the Turtle Tank. 

“I can’t even recognize myself!” Mikey said. 

“Jupiter Jim alien turtles and fair princess,” Leo declared. “Ahoy!” 

They then zoomed off to where Raph is being beaten by the other mascots. Donnie stopped and headed back to the Turtle Tank and put on the car alarm while whistling a similar tune. 

By the time they had made it, the mascots stood over Raph, who is kneeling and seemingly defeated, with his helmet in the robot vampire’s hand. 

They jumped up in the air and swung the sailor bird’s head around. They landed near a food cart, making heroic poses and staring down the rival mascots. 

“Jupiter Jim’s turtle aliens and fair maiden flying in to rescue one of our own!” Leo stood on top of the gyro stand. 

“Yeah!” Raph gasped in relief. 

“I can’t believe I’m this close to my childhood idol, Atomic Lass!” Donnie exclaimed. 

The others glared at him. 

“Oh, right, bad guys. Yeah, I’m on it.”

“Show these folks how we mascot downtown, Robot Vampire!” The sailor bird commanded. 

Robot Vampire skated forward to the turtles and Mizuki, who prepared themselves for a fight. 

He revealed his stereo body and pressed play. 

As the music began to play, the afro dog stepped forward and threw in some dance moves. He stood back up and folded his arms. 

“Mikey?” Raph smirked. 

“Donnie?” The younger turtle glanced at Donnie. 

“Activating music mode.” 

A mini DJ station floated out from Donnie’s robo-shell and flew down to Mikey, who then played the beats. 

The Lumberjack Werewolf stalked up to Mizuki, who stood bravely, and extended his hand out to her. 

Mizuki smiled smugly and swayed her hips over to him. She lifted her leg up in the air and moved around the werewolf mascot as if she was a ballet dancer. Her dress moved around in a swirling pattern as her feet bounded in the air. 

She did a backflip and landed on her feet with ease. Her arms are outstretched on the sides, her head up with confidence. 

The Lumberjack Werewolf then took her hand and spun her around a few times before lifting her up and flipping her over his shoulder. She bounced off of him, but he was able to catch her by the wrist gently and dipped her down. 

“Not bad for a lovely maiden as yourself,” the Lumberjack Werewolf flirted. 

“Sorry. I already have an eye for someone else,” Mizuki smirked. 

She kicked him in the head and flipped back towards the turtles. 

The crowd cheered wildly at the event. 

“Time to go to obedience school,” Leo bounced up and down. 

He flipped and made hip-hop moves at the Afro dog, his legs shuffling as he danced back to the others. 

“Not fair bringin’ a sword to a chain fight,” the Afro dog whipped out his chain and slashed it at Leo. 

He dodged every hit that was attempted at him. As he got closer, he sliced off the bits of the chain with his weapon. 

“Now who’s a bad boy?” Leo grabbed the last bit of the chain and threw the Afro dog over his shoulder. “You are.”

Atomic Lass jumped in behind Leo and grunted as she danced her own moves and ended with a pose, which shocked him and blew him away, non-metaphorically.   
“Outta the way!” Donnie opened the rocket on his staff and flew towards Atomic Lass. “I get to dance with her.”

Landing in front of her, he did the moonwalk and extended his hand out to her. Atomic Lass danced around him, and he grabbed her by the hand. He quickly danced with her, as the crowd whooped. 

Mizuki felt her cheeks turn hot as she watched Donnie dancing with Atomic Lass. 

Donnie dipped the mascot down and smiled. “Any chance you and Atomic Lad are splitsville?” 

A few girls screamed and fainted at his comment. 

The sailor bird suddenly hit him, and Donnie fell to the ground. 

“You dance as good as you cosplay, son.”

“Hey,” Raph caught his attention, narrowing his eyes. “Dance-pick on somebody your own size.”

He danced with his own moves, as the mascots watched him, not moving from their positions. 

The sailor bird and the Afro dog flipped up in the air and landed near Atomic Lass. She grunted and danced to the beat with her special moves, leaving the turtles and Mizuki perplexed. She got up and crossed her arms, chuckling. 

“Bring it, you puke!” The sailor bird challenged. 

The turtles and Mizuki smirked. Mikey threw down a smoke bomb on the ground. When the smoke cleared, they were gone, now on the screen with the turtle-potamus meme playing. 

They then started their dance moves in unison, the crowd’s cheer escalating. As they danced, the DJ station floated near a few people, who dropped money on the hippo head on top of the station. 

The turtles and Mizuki finished dancing and flipped safely back to the concrete. 

“Boom! It has been broughten,” Raph chuckled. 

“The Princess of the Azureans declares Jupiter Jim’s turtle aliens and fair maiden the victorious winners!” Mizuki announced and gave Mikey a high-three. 

Donnie brought the mini DJ station with the hippo head over to them and smirked. 

“Now let’s go get Dad’s robe,” Raph said. 

But Atomic Lass and the mascots are not finished. In fact, far from happy. They are furious. 

“Give us the green, Green!” She demanded and threw her hammer at them. 

The turtles and Mizuki dodged the attack before Atomic Lass charged at them. 

Donnie stood in front of Mizuki and used his staff against Atomic Lass. He shoved her away, but the rockets opened up and flew out of his hands. 

“Gah, run!” Donnie cried. 

The rocket slammed into Atomic Lass’s head, knocking it off the body. The mascot body fell to the floor lifeless. 

“Oh, no! No, no!” Donnie winced. 

Mizuki covered her mouth, her cries muffled beneath her hands. 

“Omigosh! You knocked that lady’s head clean off!” Mikey gestured to the mascot body. 

The body suddenly got up on its own, even though no one else seemed to be inside. A face of a red-bearded smiling man popped up, staring at the five. 

“You!” Raph accused. 

Atomic Lass’s hammer suddenly opens up from behind them. A pile of money and other belongings fell out to the ground. 

“You stole my wallet!” Raph exclaimed and went to pick up his wallet. “It better still have my Teddy Bear Town—hey!” 

The sailor bird suddenly tried to poke with his beak at Raph, who blocked off his attacks. 

“All right, let’s see what your ugly mug looks like!” Raph punched the mascot’s head off, which rolled past the others. 

For a second, no one else seemed to be inside. 

The head of a cockroach instantly popped up and roared. 

Raph yelled in panic and glanced behind him. 

The other three mascots suddenly appeared as mutant cockroaches roaring loudly.   
The crowd screamed and ran away terrified. 

“Metamorphosis, that took an unexpected left turn!” Donnie remarked. 

They then saw the red-beard man in front of them. The mascot also had a cockroach pop out from inside and roared at them. 

Mizuki screamed in fear and backed away to Donnie and Mikey. 

“You thought you were the only mutants in New York?” The sailor bird folded his arms, the others now standing next to him. 

“Look, all we wanted was a little money to buy our pops a gift,” Raph said to them. 

“Boo-hoo,” the mascot mocked him and took out a Teddy Bear Town coupon. “Tell it to one of your teddy bears.” 

He ripped the coupon apart and blew the bits in Raph’s face. 

Mizuki gasped. She knew how much he loves those stuffed animals. 

“Don’t you dare make fun of Dr. Huggenstein, Captain Snuggles or Cheech!” Raph yelled and punched the sailor bird cockroach. 

“Let’s get everybody their money back!” Mikey leaped in front of Raph and pulled out his weapon. 

Donnie pulled out and spun around his staff, while Leo revealed his sword and Mizuki unfurled her fans. 

The battle is on. 

While the turtles fought off their own cockroaches, Mizuki is stuck with her own Lumberjack mutant. 

He tried to slash at her, but she flipped backward and dodged his attacks. She threw her fans at him, hitting him in the shoulder and leg. They flew back to her hands, and she smirked at him. 

“Not bad, princess,” the cockroach sneered. “But not good enough.”

He instantly threw a table at her, which she managed to dodge in time, before he suddenly took a rope from a flag pole and tied them around her feet. He pulled it towards him and she fell to the ground, yelping. 

Donnie had blown Atomic Lass off him from a billboard and got up in time to find Mizuki on the ground and the Lumberjack cockroach stalking towards her. He narrowed his eyes and flew towards them speedily. 

The Lumberjack cockroach held her down with his numerous arms from his back and was about to make his kill. 

Mizuki closed her eyes tightly and turned away, a shrill scream leaving her lips. 

Donnie suddenly slammed the rocket end of his staff on the cockroach’s head, knocking him down and away from the blue-haired girl. He then hit him on the side of his face, sending him flying towards the other cockroaches. 

He nodded his head, grunting, before helping Mizuki up from the floor. “Glad I came by to save a lovely damsel in time.”

Mizuki giggled, her cheeks light rosy. 

“Hey, the creep’s got our money!” Leo yelled from the other side. 

They saw the sailor bird cockroach running away with Raph’s hippo head filled with money. 

Luckily, Raph stopped him in time by hitting him with his fonta and landing him with the others. 

“Boom!” Raph raised his helmet, his foot over the defeated mutants. “Thank you, Times Square!” 

*****

Back at the lair, the turtles and Mizuki stood in front of Splinter, their smiles on their faces. 

Mizuki bowed lightly to him and handed him his gift. 

“Aw, what is this?” Splinter opened the box and pulled out the new robe, the one identical to his original one. “My sons, Mizuki, you honor me.”

The five smiled proudly. 

“The silky smoothness against my fur, unparalleled. It is really exquisite,” Splinter grinned. “I will save it only for the most special occasions.”

“What?” The turtles and Mizuki gasped, their eyes growing. 

“Now, who’s up for training?” Splinter turned on the TV. “As luck would have it, I’m already wearing my jumping jacks robe.”

He spun around, revealing his underwear to the five. 

They all screamed, Mikey hugging Raph and Leo standing behind him. Donnie clasped his hand on the side of his face and hugged Mizuki close to him while she turned away, shrieking in terror.


	14. Bug Busters

The turtles and Mizuki rode inside the Turtle Tank down the streets, wearing their protective suits in their own colors. 

Donnie sat beside Mizuki on his computer, while Raph drove the Turtle Tank and Mikey and Leo sat in the very front. 

“Donnie, I need an update,” Mikey called. 

“Okay, one more time: Baron Draxum created ooze and put it in carrier bugs that bite people and turn them into mutants, and for some reason, it’s up to us to stop the whole situation,” Donnie explained the situation that had happened early on. 

“No, I need an update on my phone,” Mikey said. 

“Focus,” Raph firmly stated. “The news said this hotel was full of oozesquitoes. We’re suited up, so let’s get down to business.”

They soon arrived at a tall hotel, where dozens of people ran out of the lobby. They jumped inside with their bug weapons ready. 

The oozequitoes are everywhere in the hotel lobby, apart from no one else in there. 

“Okay, bugs, it’s just you and us,” Raph pointed his bugger zapper at them. 

“And me,” a man dressed in a red bellhop outfit popped up from behind the desk. “I’m here, too.”

The turtles and Mizuki stared at him, confused. 

“Do not fear, sir,” Leo stepped up to him. “We are unlicensed amateurs, and we have the situation mildly under control.”

“Ew, your skin’s all green,” the bellhop pointed out. 

“Relax, sir,” Leo assured him. “It’s a perfectly normal side effect of all the chemicals we use.”

“All right, remember the plan,” Raph stood in front of the turtles and Mizuki. “Attract, smash. Zap, smash. Bash, smash!”

They then went off in different directions and started trying to catch the oozesquitoes in the lobby. 

Key word: trying. 

While the turtles are left attempting to catch them with their bug weapons, Mizuki is in another part of the lobby with a special weapon.

She pulled out a jar with a golden-green substance glued in the middle and held it up in the air. A few oozesquitoes became attracted to the substances and flew in the jar. 

Mizuki closed the jar tightly and sighed in content. 

“Donnie said that bugs like this one are attracted to sweet substances,” she mumbled to herself. “Remind me to thank him for this.”

As she pulled out another jar with the same substance, she saw out of the corner of her eye Donnie and Mikey trapped in the intelligent turtle’s trap and rolling around. 

As much as she has to help them, right now, she needs to get the other oozesquitoes. 

A few more flew into the jar and licked at the sweet golden substance. She closed the jar tightly like the first one and placed them on her side. 

“I’m so glad that you’re the only one who is not making a mess in here,” the bellhop called to her from a meter. 

“They have their ways of catching bugs, I have mine,” she gestured to the turtles and smiled. 

Mizuki then saw the four turtles trapped in Donnie’s trapped and coated in honey. She sighed and shook her head at them. 

The sound of an animal roaring and clothes being ripped prompted her to spin around and nearly yelp. A mutant bull screamed and ran out of the lobby while knocking over things and into the night, the oozesquitoes following behind him. 

“Oh, boy,” she mumbled. 

“Gah, no!” Ralph glared at Leo. “Leo, if you just listened to me, we would have gotten the bugs and been hosing Mikey down by now.”

“We did listen to you, Raph,” Leo argued back. “And that persnickety guy was ironically mutated into a clumsy bull.”

“Hey, how about we continue this classic Raph-Leo argument outside the trap?” Donnie narrowed his eyes and tapped onto the purple trap. 

The turtles rolled out of the sphere-shaped trap and got up. Mizuki looked at the two jars and hid them underneath her armor gently. 

“Look at this mess. We gotta do the right thing, guys, and get out of here,” Mikey threw a vase behind him. 

The vase shattered and Mizuki cringed. 

The elevator doors opened, and they turned around to face who is coming out. 

A woman with purple skin and light gray hair, dressed in a dark-violet jacket with light purple cuffs, purple skirt, a fluffy, green collar, and a red brooch, stood there with her hand on her hip. 

“Uh-oh.”

“Ohmigosh.”

“Humans, be cool.”

Donnie stepped protectively in front of Mizuki, his arm raised in front of her. 

Employees dressed in suits surrounded the woman and rolled out a red carpet, which rolled all the way to the entrance of the lobby. 

The woman was now carried by two of the employees and jumped off. 

“Well, you’ve turned my hotel into quite the fizzy-winkle,” she lightly smiled. 

“You sure that was us?” Raph said. “I tell you what, we totally normal human exterminators will waive our usual fee and—“

“Don’t fret,” the woman intercepted. “My people will sort out this crackadoo.”

She clapped her hands, and various employees began to appear from different places and tidy up the messy lobby. 

“Well, since you have this under control, we’ll be heading back to our human office like humans do,” Raph said, about to walk away. 

“No need for film-flam,” the woman reassured. “You’re amongst your own kind.”

She clapped her hands again. 

The employees pressed a button on their suits, changing from humans to different varieties of mutants. 

“Whoa!” Mikey exclaimed as he and the others turned off their protective suits and stared at the various creatures in wonder. “Mutants can work here?”

“Mutant? What strange words you use,” the woman half-covered her mouth. “We prefer to call ourselves yokai.”

The woman then saw Mizuki standing behind Donnie. 

“And who might this lovely, young woman be? I never knew that your dear brethren have a lover,” the older woman smiled warmly at her. 

Donnie and Mizuki blushed greatly at her comment. The blue-haired girl straightened herself and cleared her throat. 

“I am Mizuki, ma’am,” she politely answered. “And we are not together yet.”

“Oh, what a shame. You two look like you’re perfect for one another,” the woman giggled. 

Mizuki tried to keep her blushing from appearing again as Donnie’s face turned red even more than before. 

“Come, I’ll give you the grand tour,” the woman motioned for them to follow her. 

The turtles and Mizuki began to walk behind the strange woman. 

“Okay, anyone else think we shouldn’t follow a stranger we just met into who knows what now?” Leo asked. 

Raph groaned and rolled his eyes. “She’s a nice lady, Leo. What’s not to trust?”

They walked into the elevator with the woman, and the doors closed behind them. 

“Yokai level five, please,” the woman said to a pigeon dressed in a concierge uniform. 

“Yes, Big Mama,” the pigeon saluted. “Welcome, gentle turtles and young lady, to the best hotel in town.”

He threw up his arms and released some energy, which changed the interior of the elevator to a green atmosphere. 

The turtles and Mizuki gaped in amazement. 

The concierge pulled the lever, leading them up to a different room. The doors opened up, and the turtles and Mizuki gasped in surprise. 

“Whoa.”

“Oh, awesome.”

“Incredible.”

A casino, filled with various yokais, with a green-stared sky painting, came into their view as they walked behind Big Mama.

“Did Draxum create everyone in here?” Raph asked. 

“Draxum? Whatever is a Draxum?” Big Mama looked at him. 

“I’m sorry, you’ve never heard of Baron Draxum?” Leo raised an eyebrow with suspicion. 

“He’s an evil being who has created those oozesquitoes and has been using them to create those yokai,” Mizuki explained to the older woman. “I’m sure you’ve heard of him, perhaps?”

“Hmm, sounds fascinating,” Big Mama hummed. “No, we yokai have existed for thousands of eons. Most live in the hidden city, but my hotel gives them a chance to kick up their flippers and stretch out their hollydoos.”

She stepped in front of a green wall and knocked on it. A door opened up to reveal another room with other mutants overlooking spheres. 

The turtles and Mizuki gasped and laughed with wonder. 

“This place is amazing!” Mikey nearly yelled. “What is it?”

“Our sporting lounge, where you can take in the ferocious fight of the Battle Nexus,” Big Mama answered. 

She showed them a sphere, where two different mutants fought with one another. 

“Amazing,” Mizuki inhaled. “But it does sound frightening.”

“Heavens, no,” Big Mama turned to her. “Unless you’re put off by blood-curling battles where warriors are ripped limb from limbity limb.”

She giggled and walked over to another area. 

“Hey, guys, remind me not to ask any more questions,” Mikey whispered to his brothers. 

They nodded and they and Mizuki walked behind Big Mama, unknowing that two familiar figures are watching them. 

*****

The five were soon sitting in Big Mama’s office, which viewed over the city of New York. 

“So this Draxum’s oozesquitoes are causing quite the tussle-tassle by reacting all these mutants,” Big Mama made a wave motion with her hand in front of the window. 

Images of the mutants the turtles and Mizuki have encountered appeared. 

“Those are them,” Mizuki nodded. 

“Oh, so troubling,” Big Mama shook her head in distaste. “Gives us yokai a bad name.”

She spun around as the images disappeared from the windows. “I prefer a low profile. Excuse me while I slip into something a little more comfortable.”

Big Mama pressed her brooch. A purple tornado whirled around her, the wind lightly blowing. 

“Uh-oh.”

“Ohmigosh.”

In Big Mama’s place, where she used to be, a large spider with light green hair and six red eyes roared at them. 

“Mutant arachnid!” 

“Ladybug!” 

“Oh, my God!” 

“Oh, I knew it!” Leo cheered and pumped his fist in the air. “Not that specifically, but there had to be something.”

“I see my true form shocks you,” Big Mama placed her hand over her forehead. 

“You would hurt a nice spider lady’s feelings, wouldn’t you, Leo?” Raph glared at Leo. 

“Boo!” Mikey yelled. 

Mizuki elbowed the blue-masked turtle hard, causing him to cry out, and folded her arms, pouting. 

“You know, come to think of it, perhaps my webs could of use in catching the bugs,” Big Mama looked at them. 

“I have no means to splort them around town, but surely a genius like you can create a clever device to use them to capture the bugs,” she whipped at Donnie. 

“Okay, I know what you’re doing,” Donnie rolled up to her in the spinning chair. “You’re just trying to flatter me with the truth, and I love it!” 

Mizuki rolled her eyes playfully at him. 

“Well, then allow me,” Big Mama stood up from her chair. 

She tossed him a bucket and he caught it. He looked up before he saw the mutant arachnid spitting out purple gunk at him. The web glued him to the wall as he yelled in disgust. 

“As fascinating as it is hideous,” Donnie tried his best not to throw up. “Oh, I hate it.”

He fell to the floor from the wall, still holding the bucket and covered in the purple web. 

Mizuki rushed over to him and helped him up while the others groaned from the sight of the action. 

“Once you catch the oozesquitoes,” she instructed them while wiping her mouth with a napkin. “Bring them to me and I'll safely return them to the hidden city.”

“You got yourself a deal,” Raph grinned. 

“Raph, what are we getting into?” Leo tried to reason with him. “In case, you haven’t noticed, these mystic types have a nasty habit of trying to kill us.”

“You’re being crazy,” Raph whispered to him, almost agitated. “She’s helping us catch the oozesquitoes. Don’t look a gift spider in the mouth.”

“Never look her in the mouth,” Donnie shuddered and held back the urge to vomit. 

As the five were about to walk out, Big Mama cleared her throat catching their attention. 

“Do you gentlemen mind if I have a word with the young lady?” Big Mama asked them sweetly. 

“What?! No!” Leo objected. “We can’t leave Mizuki with her!”

“Stop being so paranoid,” Donnie rolled his eyes. 

“Mizuki, you got to be with me on this one,” Leo pleaded with Mizuki. “What if she’s planning something with you?”

The blue-haired girl stood her ground and glared at him. 

“I think it’s time for you to leave,” she sternly said. 

Leo couldn’t believe his ears. Mizuki was not listening to him, but she was choosing to listen to the mutant spider over him, like his brothers. 

“Mizzy, you’re not serious!” He gazed at her with wide eyes. 

“I am, Leo. You need to wait for me outside until I’m done.”

“Mizuki, you have to listen to me—“

“Leo, we will talk about it later!” 

“Mizzy, if you just listen—“

“Leo—“

“Miz—“

“Leonardo, enough!” Mizuki shouted. 

Leo and the other turtles, except for Big Mama, flinched. They have never seen her explode like this before. 

Mizuki inhaled deeply and straightened herself. 

“Just go without me. I will come back for you outside,” she firmly ordered. 

Leo continued to stare at Mizuki with disbelief and solemnity as he is shoved by Donnie towards the elevator with the others behind him. 

Mizuki turned around and faced Big Mama, who transformed back to her original form, and sat down on the spinning chair in front of the desk. 

“I’m truly sorry you have to see that,” the young girl bowed lightly. “Leo’s never been like this before.”

“Do not blame yourself, darling,” the purple-skinned woman replied. “By the way, I must show you something.”

She handed Mizuki a folded picture from one of the desk drawers, unfolding it and smiling warmly. The younger girl took the picture and gasped lightly at the image. 

A young woman with full lips and blue hair dressed in a light pink gown and standing next to a man with almond-shaped eyes in a blue suit. 

She couldn’t believe her eyes. Those can’t be the same people from her dreams, can they? 

“My parents?” Mizuki looked up at Big Mama with wide, sparkling eyes. 

“Your mother was the most dazzling belle of the ball the night he met her,” Big Mama explained to her. “I was there when they knew they were meant to be.”

Mizuki looked closer at the picture, studying every detail of her parents. She saw a golden locket around the woman’s neck and squinted her eyes. 

She then picked up her locket from her neck and took quick glances between the picture and the golden jewelry. 

Her eyes went big as plates when she realized. 

“I want you to keep that picture, Mizuki,” Big Mama smiled, breaking her out of her trance. “So you could remember what they look like.”

“I’m sorry?” Mizuki looked at her, who is standing in front of her, with her eyes still big with hope. 

“And if you want to know what had occurred to your parents, perhaps I could send in a team with you to go search for them.”

Mizuki stared at the woman for a moment before she instantly sprung up from the spinning chair and ambushed her in a tight hug. Tears were starting to swell up from her bottom eyelids. 

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much!” Mizuki nearly choked. 

Big Mama gladly returned the hug and beamed at her excitement. “Of course, darling.”

“Now run along,” she gently led her to the elevator door. “Don’t want your dear friends and lover waiting for you for too long.”

Mizuki rushed over to the elevator, but stopped and turned around to smile at her. 

“Thank you again, Big Mama,” she acknowledged confidently. “We won’t let you down.”

She then ran out the door with the picture in her hands. 

She didn’t answer the brothers’ questions about what Big Mama had told her no did she care about their confused looks at her. 

She was going to find her parents soon!

*****

The next morning, the Turtle Tank sped down the street in the city. 

Raph, Donnie, Mikey, and Mizuki, who is still holding the image of her parents, sat in the Tank. 

“I looked it up,” Donnie started. “Bitey bugs from phylum Arthropoda are attracted to carbon dioxide.”

“Leo, let it loose,” Raph commanded while driving the Tank. 

Leo, who was tied to a gas tank, sighed and opened up the tank. 

“Fire up the bug slapper.”

Donnie ran on the rooftops with a purple suitcase contraption and chased after an oozesquito. 

“Genius powers, go!” Donnie leaped off the rooftop and pressed the button on the handle and threw the suitcase in the air. 

The carrier changed to a bike, the webs Big Mama have given to them stored in the loader, and Donnie landed on the flying vehicle. 

He flew near the gas and pulled down his goggles. He started firing at the oozesquito, which repeatedly missed his shots, and chased it around the city. Finally, he was able to catch it in time and whopped. 

“Deadeye Donnie shoots, and touchdown!” He grabbed the bug and placed it in a jar in the Tank. “Or insert correct reference.”

As the turtles kept on finding the oozesquitoes that were loose in the lab chaos, Mizuki stared down at the picture Big Mama gifted her. She traced her finger along the woman’s face and the locket around her neck. 

She lifted her necklace and studied it, smiling lightly. 

“I’ll find you, Mama and Papa,” she pondered. “I’m on my way.” 

*****

Soon, the turtles and Mizuki caught all the oozesquitoes and headed back to the yokai hotel. 

Donnie saw the picture in Mizuki’s hands as he walked alongside her and took a quick peek over her shoulder. She saw him, however, and hastily put it away in her knapsack safely. 

“You know there’s no shame in telling us about them,” he whispered to her. 

He had known that Big Mama had told her about her parents’ whereabouts when Mizuki had walked out of the hotel with them last night. 

“Yes, there is,” Mizuki whispered back. 

When they got to the elevator, however, a different concierge, an owl, stared them down with suspicion. 

“So other guy’s day off?” Leo asked him smugly. 

The owl concierge only grunted in annoyance and stepped aside to let them in. 

As they arrived at the office floor, more mutants enveloped them in the elevator. 

Leo and Mizuki both gave nervous looks as the other turtles calmly whistled a tune. 

She hated to admit it, but she felt something was not quite right. 

The turtles and Mizuki, stepped out of the elevator, only to find the place darker than the last time. 

Donnie’s device turned on a light, scaring them a little. Donnie rubbed his neck and chuckled nervously. 

The light shone on the various webs on objects, with Big Mama nowhere to be found. 

Donnie saw that Mizuki is not with him and found her standing with Leo, a few inches from where he is standing. 

“Hey, everything alright, guys?” He asked them. 

“Greenie boos, gifts for Big Mama?” Big Mama dangled from above them. 

“Oozesquitoes,” Raph held up the jar of oozesquitoes for her to see. “But we’re almost out of web goo.”

“Fantumptous,” the mutant spider giddily clasped her hands together. “And look at that marvelous device you’ve built me.”

“Oh, glad you like it, but uh, actually, it’s mine,” Donnie said, putting away his device. “And why are your extra large bellhops stand in so close all of a sudden?”

Leo gently took Mizuki by the hand and they both backed away towards the elevator. Mizuki’s eyes went big with fear as she saw Donnie and the others being surrounded. 

A wolf bellhop took the jar of oozesquitoes from Raph harshly. 

“Oh, they’ll just be taking those bugs and your device,” Big Mama smiled evilly at the turtles. “My Battle Nexus thanks you.”

“Wait a minute, you run that barbaric Battle Nexus?” Raph turned to her horrified. 

“Yes, Big Mama’s kind of the bees knees down in the hidden city,” she replied. 

The screen turned on to show the same delivery boy who was mutated and another bellhop fighting one another. 

“You see, the pickings have gotten a little slim lately,” Big Mama explained. “And with those oozesquitoes, I’ll be creating wonderful warrior mutants who will be more exciting than ever.”

“And I’ll be putting you boys to work in my Battle Nexus as well,” she stared at them with greedy eyes. 

“No way,” Mikey objected. “We are not fighting for you.”

“Ha, heaven’s no,” Big Mama lowered behind them, chuckling. “You’ll be my bumbling arena clowns.”

“No, we won’t!” Mikey pointed at her angrily. 

When he went to leave, however, he accidentally stepped on a banana peel and fell down, dragging Donnie and Raph with him. 

Big Mama and her bellhops laughed at their accidental antics. 

“And by the way, Mizuki’s parents’ whereabouts. You lied to her about it, did you?” Donnie glowered at the mutant spider. 

“Of course I did,” the mutant spider giggled evilly. “She would be the perfect candidate for a suitable heir one day. I bet that I could find her a splendid husband for her, compared to you, of course.”

Donnie’s heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. She’s really going to use Mizuki as a way to continue her dirty work? 

He growled and went to charge at her, but the bellhop mutants stopped him. 

“Okay, Leo, I admit it,” Raph said. “You were right. You were right!”

There was no response from Leo.

“Leo?” Raph searched for the two, but couldn’t find them. “Hey, where’s Leo?”

“I’m sure wherever he is, he’s trying to save us,” Mikey suggested. 

Leo frantically pressed the button, with Mizuki holding onto his arm. The elevator doors closed under the buttons being hastily pressed by Leo. 

“Find the blue one and the girl!” Big Mama commanded. 

The bellhop mutants jumped over the three turtles and started towards the elevator doors. 

The other minions shoved the brothers down and cuffed them. 

“Wait!” Big Mama ordered.

The bellhop mutants stopped in their tracks. 

“I’ve got a better idea,” she said. 

“Gus,” she called in a sing-song tone. 

“Gus? What kind of mutant is named Gus?” Donnie raised an unimpressed eyebrow. 

A door slowly opened up in front of them.

A large mutant unsheathed his claws, his teeth baring as he snarled. 

“Uh-oh.”

“Oh, no.”

Gus stepped out of the darkness, only to reveal himself as a mutant dog, panting heavily and howling in joy. 

“Huh?” 

“Yep, that’s a Gus,” Raph confirmed. 

Gus slid up in front of Big Mama. “Whoa, dude, is this about me chewing all those slippers? I totally didn’t do it.”

“Never mind the stupid slippers,” Big Mama demanded. “Get their scent and find the missing turtle and that human girl.”

Gus howled and turned towards the brothers. “On it, brah.”

He then began to sniff them both, while they became nervous and grunted. 

When he got Leo and Mizuki’s scent, Gus growled and stepped back. Spikes sprouted out of his back. He howled and sprinted towards the elevator doors. 

“Put this splendiferously ingenious device contraption in my safe,” Big Mama handed Donnie’s bike machine to one of the bellhops, who bowed at her. 

“Huh, flattered but also betrayed,” Donnie rolled his eyes.

“Take these charming young clowns to the Battle Nexus, please,” she commanded them. 

The bellhop mutants stalked towards him and his brothers. Donnie still didn’t let his angered view leave the mutant arachnid as they were escorted out of the office. 

*****

Leo and Mizuki both stepped out of the elevator and checked to see if anyone was following them. 

Leo sighed in relief when he realized that they are safe. He stopped when he saw Mizuki on the floor, her hands clasping her arms. 

“Mizzy?”

She looked up at him with a disheartened look. Her cheek was stained with a small tear. 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He asked her softly. 

“You’re right, Leo,” she replied, her voice choking. “You were right about Big Mama. She lied to us. She lied to my face, and I believed her.”

“What do you mean?”

“She told me that she knew about what happened to my parents and that she could help me find them...” Mizuki stopped to wipe some more tears from her eyes. “And she used it against me.”

Leo knew that this is no time to brag about being right about Big Mama. He walked over to her and gently helped her up from the ground. 

“Hey, hey, hey,” he soothed her and cupped her face to have her look at him. “We’ll help make her pay for doing this to you. And maybe after this, we’ll help find out about your parents. Sound like a good plan?”

Mizuki looked up at him, her eyes red but filled with hope. “You really mean that?”

“What kind of ninja would I be if I said I was lying?” He replied. 

She smiled at him, despite feeling like she wanted to cry again.

They heard footsteps heading their way from around the corner and gasped. They then saw an opening to a vent above them and lit up. 

*****

As the turtles were being escorted down to the entrance of the Battle Nexus, one of them couldn’t keep his mind off of Mizuki’s face. 

Donnie thought about how devastated and betrayed she must be feeling when she knew that Big Mama lied to her about helping her find her parents, about how he wouldn’t be able to see her again. 

Raph and Mikey saw Donnie’s depressed look and instantly felt bad for him. 

They soon stepped in front of a yellow gateway with purple web-like substances over the archway. 

“Ohmigosh.”

Donnie’s eyes went big with fear. 

“Here we are, gateway to the Battle Nexus,” the bellhop mutants shoved them forward. “Say goodbye to New York, turtles.”

The brothers glared at them as they were pushed towards the gateway. 

A laundry cart slowly rolled up in front of them. They stopped and stared at it with uncertainty. 

“All right, now hold up,” the owl bellhop said skeptically. “Laundry bin in the middle of the hallway?”

“Classic trap,” the other bellhop mutant added. “I shall investigate”

He shoved past the turtles and walked towards the bin. He pulled out all the clothes, only to find no one in there. 

“Oh, it’s empty,” he turned to face his comrade. “Well, I guess we can let our guard down then.”

“Sounds right,” the owl bellhop walked to the other bellhop. 

A sword lowered behind them and tried to make a portal. 

The turtles peeked up when they recognized those blue glows. 

Leo attempted to make a portal from above the vent, while Mizuki watched from the opposite side of him. 

“Come on, make a portal!” Leo softly said. 

Finally, he was able to make one, which appeared behind the bellhops. 

The brothers lit up with excitement. 

The bellhops, who didn’t notice the portal, began to back away from the laundry bin, unintentionally stepping back to the portal. 

“Step back, step back,” Leo mumbled. “Yes! Now step into my trap, you—“

The vent suddenly broke open from beneath him and Mizuki. They fell through the blue gateway, screaming. 

“Cowabunga!” Mikey whooped. 

The other brothers then leaped through the portal, cheering in victory. The bellhops tried to get them, but the portal closed before they could catch them. 

The turtles and Mizuki landed on top of one another on one of the floors, grunting from the impact. 

“You’re welcome for saving you,” Leo groaned. 

Leo cut the cuffs off of Donnie’s wrists first before he turned to cut Mikey and Raph free. 

“If you hadn’t left us and taken Mizzy with you, we all could have saved ourselves together,” Raph lectured him.

“What?” Leo glared at him. 

Donnie saw Mizuki helping Mikey up and quickly entrapped her in a hug. She hugged him back, burying her head in his shoulder. 

“I’m so glad you’re okay!” He sighed in relief. 

“She lied to me,” she quietly sobbed. “She lied...”

“I know, Mizzy. I know,” he soothed her, stroking her hair. “We’ll get back at her.”

A loud howl from down the hallway and pounding footsteps forced the turtles and Mizuki to rotate at the direction of the sounds. 

Gus sped at them, his fangs baring in the light. 

Donnie and Leo instantly stepped behind Raph, while the purple-wearing turtle stood in front of Mizuki protectively. 

“Well, we had a good run,” Leo stated nervously. 

Mikey popped up in front of Raph and held out a tennis ball. 

“Hey, boy, what’s this?” He said excitedly. 

Gus skidded to a halt when he saw the ball in Mikey’s palm. “Whoa, what is that?”

Mikey moved the ball around in the air, while Gus quickly followed the movement. 

Mizuki and Donnie both perked up when they realize what he is doing. 

“Oh, oh, oh, man. I gotta get that thing and bring it back!” 

Mikey threw the ball in the opposite direction of the hallway, which whizzed past the others. Gus shoved Raph and Donnie, who managed to push Mizuki to safety, and chased after the bouncing tennis ball. 

“I’m sorry, who was that?” Leo pointed at where Gus had gone to. 

“Gus was sent to eat you and Mizuki,” Donnie replied. 

“In that case, maybe it’s time to blow this balloon factory,” Leo walked up to the nearest elevator and pressed the button. 

“Once we’re safe at home, I can brag about how right I was and, in turn, how wrong you were,” he stepped in the elevator. “So let’s do it.”

“I got it,” Raph stepped inside and narrowed his eyes at Leo. “But we’re not going without Donnie’s bug slapper and the oozesquitoes. We can’t leave them in Queen Eight-legs’ hands.”

Donnie, Mizuki, and Mikey stepped inside the elevator. 

“Well, since we indubitably have no idea where—“ Leo went to press the button to the lobby. 

Mizuki stopped him by the wrist and held him firmly. 

“Leo, I was there when her henchmen placed the oozesquitoes and Donnie’s device in a safe place,” she said to him. 

“Spill the beans, Leo!” Raph argued. “Every time you say indubitably, I know you’re up to something.”

“Fine,” Leo admitted. “Everything’s in Big Mama’s office, and we can risk our lives getting it back right now.”

He pressed the button that will lead them to the mutant spider’s office. 

“And that’s exactly what we’re gonna do,” Raph stepped in front of the door and punched his palms. “Guys, stealth mode!” 

“Maybe you should say those words a bit quieter for effect,” Mizuki suggested, giggling slightly. 

“Stealth mode,” Leo whispered. 

*****

The elevators opened to show the turtles and Mizuki Big Mama’s office. They tiptoed and found no one in the area. 

Donnie accidentally knocked over a purple pitcher off a table, but he caught at the last minute and exhaled calmly. 

“Ssh! Ssh!” Raph harshly shushed. 

Mizuki found the painting where she saw one of the bellhop mutants put Donnie’s bike contraption and the oozesquiotes. She pressed her two fingers on the man’s eyes of the painting. 

The image disappeared to reveal a large golden safe door. The turtles followed her gaze and stared at the door. 

“This calls for the delicate touch of a genius,” Donnie stepped beside her and pressed a button on his staff. 

The staff changed to a chainsaw, and he began to try and pry it open. The saw loudly whirred as sparks fly off from the impacts. 

“I’ll cover the sound for you!” Mikey yelled over the noise. 

He knocked over a lamp, which shattered on the ground. 

Mizuki rolled her eyes playfully and placed in the combination she saw the bellhop mutant put in. 

“We should be through in a couple of hours!” Donnie shouted.  
“Or…” Mizuki called. 

He turned to her just as she put in the last ‘1’ on the combination code. 

The door to the safe opened up when it sensed the code was correct. 

Donnie did a triple glance between her and the safe door before he blushed entirely and nervously beamed at her. 

Mizuki folded her arms across her chest, smiling at him, and gestured inside. 

“Whoa.”

“That’s awesome.”

Donnie, Leo, and Raph went inside the safe while Mikey and Mizuki stayed there for lookouts. 

A tennis ball rolled up to Mikey’s feet. He picked it up and examined it. 

“Hey, my ball,” he said. 

Mizuki studied it before her eyes shrunk in realization. “Oh, no…”

A low growl from the elevator caused Donnie, Raph, and Leo, who had collected the oozesquitoes and Donnie’s bike device, to peek out of the safe door and Mikey and Mizuki to look up. 

Gus snarled at them, standing on twos. 

“Don’t start a game of fetch you can’t finish,” he narrowed his eyes at them.  
“Oh, no, no, no, no, no, dears. This simply will not do.”

The turtles and Mizuki turn around when they heard a familiar voice from behind the desk. 

Big Mama, who is back in her human form, turned around in her chair and stared at them unimpressed. “If there’s one rule Big Mama has—“

“Is it forgive and forget?” Leo asked hopefully. 

“Is it don’t chew on the guest slippers?” Raph pondered. 

“Is it no using Raph’s toothbrush?” Mikey had a toothbrush in his mouth. 

“Is it Ohm’s law?” Donnie raised an eyebrow mystically. 

“No!” Big Mama answered angrily. 

She transformed herself back to her spider figure and shot her webs at the turtles. 

Donnie pushed Mizuki out of the way in time before he was instantly trapped in the cocoons with Mikey and his brothers. 

“Donnie!” Mizuki cried. 

“My rule is, no stealing from Big Mama,” Big Mama smirked at them evilly. 

She then turned towards Mizuki, who scooted back whimpering, and stalked towards her. She grabbed the young girl up by her braided hair harshly, lifting her up to her eye level. 

Mizuki yelled in agony and attempted to free herself by grabbing at her fingers and kicking at her as best as she could. 

“Mizzy!” 

“No! Leave her alone!” Donnie demanded, trying to wriggle himself out of the cocoon. 

“My dear young Mystic Protector, I’ve always wanted to meet one of your own face-to-face,” Big Mama said, smushing Mizuki’s face. “I’ve been thinking about having you to carry on my work, but now, I’ve decided to put you out of your suffering.”

A shadowy figure appeared behind the window and created a circle on the glass. The figure then barged in as the smoke cleared from the explosion. 

“And my rule is, no stealing from me!” Draxum declared, standing on his purple vines. 

“No. It can’t be…” Mizuki murmured terrified. 

“Mr. Sheep to the rescue!” Mikey exclaimed ecstatically. 

“And that’s a good thing?” Donnie glanced at him annoyed. “He tried to destroy us last time we saw him.”

“Scramulent to see you again, Baron Draxum,” Big Mama greeted him, unintentionally setting Mizuki down. “But you really must learn to use the dimbally door.”

“You must learn to use real words,” Draxum pointed at her. 

“Huh, they know each other,” Leo stated. “If only one of us had seen that coming.”

“You are a poor winner, Leo,” Raph said to him. 

“Those are my property,” Draxum then gestured to the jar of oozesquiotes. “Fetch them, my pets.”

The two gargoyles flew off of his shoulders and went to grab the jar. They suddenly got attacked by Gus and screamed as they tried to get away from him. 

“I need these bimbally bugs for all those tase victims they will mutate for my Battle Nexus,” Big Mama argued.

“Those were made for something much greater than your silly Battle Nexus,” Draxum implied. “They’re here to eliminate the human threat forever. I will have every last one on the surface.”

He then thrusted his arms beside him, large swords covering his arms, and charged at her. Mizuki dodged the attack in time and rolled next to Donnie and Mikey. 

Draxum tried the first two times to hit Big Mama, but she blocked them off. He then shot the purple vines at her, and she avoided them, crawling up on the wall. 

As the mutants fought, the brothers and Mizuki rolled away, trying to avoid the battle. 

“Ah, what is this, another one of your success-proof plans?” Leo rolled his eyes. 

“Yes—I mean, no, no,” Raph quickly answered. 

“Hold still, guys,” Mizuki whispered. 

She pulled out a knife and began to cut the gunk to free the brothers. 

The tennis ball was thrown at Gus, who chased after it again and got off of the two gargoyles, leaping into the safe. Big Mama was now knocked out after a tough fight with Draxum. 

“To the roof!” He commanded. “Time for us yokai to take over the surface.”

The gargoyles took the oozesquiotes and flew up to the roof with Draxum on his vines. 

Mizuki unfolded her fans and started for the chase. 

“Hang on, Miz! You gotta stay here and deal with the arachnid here!” Raph raised his hand in front of her. 

He then glanced at Leo. “Leo, portal to the roof now!” 

“There you go, telling me what to do again,” Leo rolled his eyes. “Well, actually, no, that’s a plan I can get behind.”

He stuck his sword on the floor and ran around, forming a circle. 

A portal opened up at his command. 

“Yes!” 

“Can we rename today Leo Day?” The blue-masked turtle asked. 

Raph grabbed him, and they both fell through the portal. The gateway closed just before Donnie and Mikey can even jump though behind the other two. 

“What are we supposed to do?” Mikey asked. 

Big Mama appeared behind them and roared loudly. 

“Oh, right,” Mikey realized. 

“This’ll teach you to compliment my work and give me my first positive reinforcement from a parent-aged adult ever!” Donnie shouted angrily. 

He tossed his device, which changed to the hoverbike, and jumped on it, with Mikey behind him. 

“Cowabunga!” The younger turtle cried. 

Mizuki saw the mutant spider and growled lowly. Her hands gripped her fans tightly as electric green glowing lines surrounded her palms. 

Donnie and Mikey’s eyes both went big when they noticed her standing there and facing Big Mama, who spun around to find her staring her down with hatred. 

“You used my friends and me,” she gritted her teeth at the mutant spider. “You lied to us about this hotel. But the worst part of all things I have encountered and heard in my life...”

Big Mama began to become scared as the young girl’s eyes gradually changed from a hint of dark violet to a shade of electric green. 

“You have lied to me about my parents!” Mizuki roared and charged at her. 

She was angry. 

No, not angry. 

She was beyond furious. 

The last thing she remembered was her roaring in fury and charging towards a now frightened Big Mama, and her vision turning bright green. 

…

…

…

The voices belonging to Mikey and Donnie were muffled from a distance, her ears ringing for a brief moment. She moaned and stirred before she gradually came to. 

Mizuki grunted and stood up steadily until her eyes went big at the state of Big Mama’s office. 

The floor was covered in rumble, more than the last time Big Mama and Draxum fought. The wallpapers were a ripped state, shredded to the ground. The desk was even damaged, split in half. 

“Mizzy!” Mikey called from somewhere. 

She turned around and focused on Donnie and Mikey on the hoverbike leaving the wrecked office to the outside of the hotel. 

“Come on, girl! We gotta go find the others!” Mikey shouted to her. 

The young girl nodded quickly, picking up her fans, and sprinted towards the two. 

She was able to jump through the broken window before a purple line of web grabbed her by the leg and pulled her back. She screamed as she was violently pulled backward. 

Donnie looked over his shoulder and found Mizuki now trapped in Big Mama’s grip. “Mizuki!” 

“You will regret messing with my plans!” Big Mama growled. 

She began to squeeze the younger girl’s body hard. Mizuki grunted, trying to fight her way out, and yelled in pain when Big Mama was close to crushing her. 

Donnie glanced at the arachnid mutant, then down at his control panel. 

The webs are almost gone. He’s left with one option. 

“Oh, only one web left. Better make it count,” he mumbled. 

“Hey, BM!” He called out to her. 

Big Mama turned to Donnie and Mikey and raised an eyebrow. 

“Do you mind coming a bit closer, please? ‘Cause I want to say one last thing to you,” Donnie faked a smile and turned around his flying vehicle to her. 

“And what might that be?” Big Mama snarled, taking a few steps towards the window, with Mizuki still in her grasp. 

“Been a pleasure ‘working’ for you!” Donnie shouted and fired the last web at her. 

The web splattered into Big Mama’s eyes. She let out an agonized cry and unintentionally dropped Mizuki and crashed into her safe, closing the door. 

However, the blue-haired girl fell from her grip and towards the ground far below, screaming. 

“Mizzy!” Mikey yelled. 

Donnie gasped and flew as fast as he could, passing Mizuki, until he was able to hover a few meters above the concrete. 

He stood up and extended his arms out, catching her just in time. Mizuki glanced up at him and sighed in relief, smiling up at him. 

The three flew off into the city until they found Leo and Raph sitting on a blue seat in a bus stop, defeated and waiting for them. 

“Everyone okay?” Donnie asked them. 

“We’re fine, but the squitoes got away,” Raph replied clearly agitated and sad. “Another failed mission.”

Mizuki’s heart dropped. “What?”

“Not a total failure,” Donnie added. “We’ve got this to go get them now. Oh, I am, however, out of webs. So, uh, partial failure?”

“Yay,” he cheered weakly. 

“Raph, what was that crazy power-up?” Leo turned to Raph. “You saved my life!” 

“I don’t know,” the bigger turtle shrugged. “I just knew if I didn’t save your life, I’d never hear the end of it from you.”

“And on a side note, Draxum created us,” Leo smirked. “He told me right before he threw me off the roof, so I don’t think he’s very attached.”

“What? Does that mean we’re teenage...” Mikey started, surprised. 

“Mutant...” Donnie said next. 

“Ninja...” Leo gasped. 

“Sheepmen?” Raph finished. 

The turtles groaned in annoyance and confusion. 

They then saw Mizuki get up from Donnie’s bike and walk around, nearly freaking out. 

“What’s wrong, Miz?” Raph asked her. 

“Oh, this is not good,” Mizuki only talked to herself. “This is so not good. The fate of humanity will now be destroyed, all because I failed my mission!” 

“Mission? What mission? Mizzy, what’s going on?” Donnie questioned her. 

She realized that she had said this out loud and not to herself. She turned around to face the four brothers staring at her with worry and curiosity.

She tried to come up with something to cover up her words, but in her mind, she got nothing. 

Finally, Mizuki stood straight and sighed. “I think it’s time you all know the truth.”

“What do you mean?” Mikey asked her, confused and slightly devastated. 

“I am part of the Mystic Protectors,” she said. “And I’ve been sent to stop Baron Draxum.”

The turtles stared at her wide-eyed at the revelation. 

“Before I first met you all, I’ve been given a mission to retrieve the vial from Mayhem so not only can my rebellion study it, but to also destroy it should it be seen as a dangerous weapon,” she explained to them. “We’ve heard many stories about Draxum and his numerous experimentations for many years, and we feared he would turned humanity into mutants if he is successful. I’ve made a promise to my leader that I wouldn’t let it happen. Now it seems that I’ve let my team down…As well as you guys.”

She turned around to avoid looking at them. She couldn’t bear to see their faces filled with betrayal and devastation. 

“You didn’t let us down,” Mikey said to her and beamed widely. “If anything, you actually whooped Big Mama’s behind!” 

Mizuki looked at him in surprise. 

“And not only that, you’ve helped us get the oozesquitoes before we lost them again!” Leo added. 

“Yeah, and the way you encouraged us when we lost those foot-painted creeps when they took paper, and how you fought off those silverfish, and joined us in the dance fight back in Times Square!” Raph piped in. 

“You actually did those things better than anyone else! Who cares if you’re not a Mystic Protector? You’re a complete bad-a warrior!” Donnie smiled at her. 

Mizuki felt her cheeks burn red and glanced at the grinning brothers. She smiled back at them and stared down at the floor. 

Her eyes lit up when she remembered something. “Hey, did you guys say that you lost the oozesquitoes?”

“Yeah? Why?” Leo asked her. 

She pulled out the two jars she had with her, the small green bugs flying around the golden substance, and held them up for them to see. 

The turtles gasped and gaped at her. 

“I meant to thank you for giving me those jars,” Mizuki beamed at Donnie. 

The soft shell turtle blushed and smiled at her. “No probbles.”

*****

Mizuki closed the door of her apartment behind her and stretched her body. 

Her phone vibrated in her side pocket, startling her only a little bit. She checked the caller ID and almost had a panic attack. 

She sighed deeply and answered the call. 

“Jupiter,” Mizuki greeted the older woman. 

“Mizuki,” Jupiter bowed her head in return. “Apologies for calling you this late at night. We just wanted to make sure you’re alright and well.”

“I’m fine, Jupiter,” Mizuki answered. “But...”

She exhaled, almost defeated. “I bear terrible news. It’s Baron Draxum. He’s still alive...and he has released all the oozesquitoes over New York City.”

“What?” Jupiter gasped in horror. 

“We tried to stop him, the turtles and I,” Mizuki explained, trying not to break in tears. “But another enemy was between us and...”

She turned quickly to keep Jupiter from seeing her, then faced her again. “I swear to the Gods above, we will try and stop the oozesquitoes from mutating innocent lives and defeat Baron Draxum. I will not stop fighting for the protection of this world.”

“I trust you, Mystic Protector,” Jupiter nodded after hearing Mizuki’s determined words. “I will send those who are willing to help you should you need us.”

“There is something I must know, Jupiter,” Mizuki stopped the leader from ending the call. 

Jupiter raised an eyebrow at her request. “And what might that be, Mizuki?”

“My parents,” Mizuki asked with hope. “You said they were coming back for me when they left me with you as a child. Are they truly alive?”

Jupiter seemed hesitant to answer the girl’s question, but when she saw the pleading look to know, she sighed. 

“I am uncertain about their whereabouts or when they are coming back,” the leader told her. “We have searched everywhere for them the moment they had not come back. It was all for naught, even for a while now.”

“So…you think they’re…” Mizuki faltered, about to break out in tears. 

“Don’t lose hope, Mizuki,” Jupiter reassured her. “We will find them after Draxum is done for. If it takes another 10 years to find them, so be it.”

Mizuki glanced at Jupiter, who beamed assuringly at her, and smiled back at her. 

“Until next time, Mystic Protector,” Jupiter bowed her head lightly and waved her hand, ending the call. 

Mizuki lied back on her bed and closed her eyes. 

Her parents have to be alive. They have to be…

They must be waiting for her to find them, maybe in another place. A hidden world where they were hiding from enemies. A place where they are hoping for her to be alive and fighting for the safety of the people living above ground… 

Soft taps on her window broke her out of her train of thoughts. She sat up on her bed to notice Donnie waving at her. 

“Donnie?” Mizuki got up and opened the window, stepping aside to let him through. “What are you doing here? It’s late.”

“I know, I know,” Donnie replied in understanding. “It won’t take long, I swear to you on that.”

Mizuki tried not to look at him, but did so anyway, biting her lip. 

“You heard the whole thing, did you?”

“Well, I’m not of a snooper, but…yeah.”

Donnie and Mizuki stared down at the floor in silence before the soft-shell turtle spoke up again. 

“So…Mystic Protector, huh?” He raised a mischievous eyebrow at her, trying to lighten the mood. 

“It’s a long, complicated story,” Mizuki half-heartedly chuckled. “It’s a downer.”

Donnie sat on her bed and motioned for her to sit next to him. She shook her head playfully and did as he asked her to. 

“I was pretty much still a baby when I was left in the leader’s care,” she started. “From the time I became about eight, they started training me to be one of the brave people in their team. The legendary Mystic Protectors. Headstrong warriors dedicated to protecting the outside world from dangerous beings, loyal soldiers bent on preventing the worst prophecies from coming true and helping the best ones happen.”

“Were they mystical beings, too?” Donnie asked her. 

“Well, a few of us feared magic of sorts,” Mizuki shrugged her shoulders. “But other than that, we have the fighting abilities that suit us well the second we improved ourselves on them. But we can’t tell them what we said about them. It’ll ruin them.”

“Ah, can’t ruin a rebellion’s secret,” Donnie smirked. 

“Yeah, well, apparently, it’s the only thing we have to protect.”

They both chuckled before they gazed at one another with loving eyes. Donnie smiled at her, his cheeks rosy red.  
Mizuki also beamed at him, her face red as well. 

Donnie then cleared his throat, the rosy color leaving his cheeks. “Anyway, um, other than that, I wanted to tell you a few things.”

“Of course,” Mizuki nodded. 

“Back there, when we were facing off Big Mama, I have to admit it, you were pretty good kicking her butt like that,” he told her. “How’d you do that?” 

“It’s…it’s hard to explain,” Mizuki shrugged, unsure. “One moment I was about to attack her, and the next…I blacked out. I can’t remember what happened next.”

“Well, whatever it was, that was pretty awesome.”

Mizuki giggled, then glanced back at him. “And what is this other thing you wanted to tell me?”

“The oozesquitoes you managed to keep with you through the whole ‘Big Mama’ fiasco?” Donnie said. “Thinkin’ about creating a cure, hopefully will reverse the mutations here in New York.”

“Really?” She asked him hopefully. 

“With any luck, there’ll probably be enough for the mutations to be reversed and maybe stop Draxum before he causes more trouble,” Donnie nodded. 

“I hope so with everything I have on me,” she agreed. 

Donnie beamed at her faithfulness. 

“Well, I’ve got to get back to the lair,” he got up from the bed and stretched his body. “But, um, guess I’ll see you again soon...”

“Donnie?” Mizuki said. 

He stopped as he was putting his foot out the window and glanced at her. 

“For the record, catching those bugs was a lot of fun,” she smiled. 

Donnie chuckled. “And for the record...I like having you in the team as those Mystic Protectors.”

Mizuki giggled and blushed. 

Donnie smiled at her now last time before he fully got himself through the window and jumped off the fire escape balcony. 

She watched him from her bed until he disappeared over a building. She lightly giggled, her cheeks still red. 

“OH, MY GOD! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!” Mizuki cried underneath her pillow a second later.


	15. The Longest Fight

Leo flipped in the air on his skateboard and rode across the skate ramps. 

Raph was lifting a weight while Donnie watched something on his tablet, which is being carried by one of his robo-shell arms. 

Mizuki jumped from the roof of the lair and swung on the bars attached to the walls. She swung off the bar and landed on a plank. 

She eyed Mikey, who has a chef’s hat on his head, and smirked mischievously. 

She sneakily landed on the ground behind where Mikey was checking over the buffet table. When Raph and Donnie saw her, she placed a finger in front of her lips, signaling them to stay quiet. 

“Okay, we got pizza rolls, pizza balls, pizza tots, pizza puffs,” Mikey looked over the things he had made and removed a lid to reveal a special dish of pizza. “And duck a l’orange pizza!”

Mizuki instantly popped up from behind him and yelled, raising her hands. 

Mikey shrieked in fear and fell to the floor. The blue-haired girl laughed as he turned around and found her holding her sides while cackling. 

Leo ceased skating to laugh at the box turtle, while Raph and Donnie chuckled at the scare Mizuki gave him. 

“As if today could get any more perfect,” Donnie still chuckled. 

“Live from Tokyo,” an announcer said from Donnie’s tablet. “The Extreme Skateboarding Finals.”

“Hey, it’s starting, guys,” Raph yelled to the guys. 

“Whoo-hoo!” Mikey cheered. 

Leo stared at them in confusion about how they are not watching him. Mizuki sat next to Donnie to watch the game finals. 

“Three hours of insane tricks. And the rumors are true—“

A girl stood on the skating ramp with her skateboard, confident as camera flashes were aimed at her. 

“Sydney Allen will attempt a 14-40 on the Mega Ramp.”

“Is that even possible?” Donnie asked excitedly. 

“No way!” Mikey exclaimed. 

“She’s gotta be a mutant,” Raph suggested. 

“How long has she been training for this?” Mizuki wondered aloud. 

“Hey,” Leo called from behind them. 

The others turned to look at him balancing on his skateboard on the skating ramp. 

“I bet I could do a 14-40,” he smirked smugly. 

“I will forego my usual, ‘No, don’t. That’s four rotations. That’s crazy talk, Leo,’,” Donnie sighed. “And skip right ahead to, ‘Cover the food.’”

Raph and Mikey quickly ran over to the food the younger turtle had prepared to prevent Leo from landing on them by accident. 

“Here, you might wanna wear this,” Donnie pulled out a helmet and placed on Mizuki. 

“Why?” Mizuki asked. 

“For Sydney!” Leo cried. “Hot soup!” 

He then rolled down the ramp and sped past his brothers, who looked up at him. He cheered as he flipped in the air, holding on to his skateboard, and misstepped. 

He regained his balance and laughed triumphantly. 

Donnie only stared at his device, not even bothering to watch Leo attempt his tricks. 

“Leo, do be careful!” Mizuki yelled to him worried. 

When he rolled up to the top of the skate ramp, Leo’s skateboard flipped around as he did a rotation.

“Cowabunga!” 

His skateboard flipped away from him and he fell down the ramp, screaming. 

Raph, who had food in his mouth, and Mikey looked up again only to see Leo sliding down the ramp, unimpressed. They laughed and pointed at him as he glared at them. 

The skateboard flew around the lair, hitting the walls and almost hitting Mizuki, who was pulled down by Donnie at the last second to avoid being hit. 

The skateboard then hit the conduit for the WiFi, electricity crackling from the impact. 

“The WiFi!” Raph gasped. 

He pulled up Donnie’s device, the screen only showing static. 

“WiFi. Skating. Raph watch, Donnie fix,” he shoved the tablet into Donnie’s face. “Raph happy.”

Donnie shoved him away, also panicking. “I need pre-game. Stats, highlights of past stats, projections of future stats. We’re missing the stats, people!” 

“And we’re gonna miss Sydney and the 14-40!” The turtles began to panic. 

Mizuki was the only one not panicking, standing there as she watched the brothers losing their calm because they’re about to miss, to them, the important events of their lives. 

“Everybody cool it!” Raph shouted. 

The three stopped panicking and glanced at him. 

“There’s worse things in the world than—“ Raph tried to think up of the worse things, but he couldn’t. “Oh, who am I kidding? Our lives are ruined.” 

The turtles sagged at the devastating event. 

“No, wait,” Raph said. “I got a fix. But it ain’t gonna be pretty.”

*****

Mizuki waited outside of the living room, as the boys pleaded with their father to let them use the TV in the living area. 

Donnie had told her earlier that Splinter likes to spend time in the living room and watch TV, not even letting them have it to themselves alone, which explains why they have their own tablets and phones. 

She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and pull it put to read a message from one of her colleagues. 

“Heard that you’re working with mutant turtles,” the message read. “Must be fun.”

“It is,” Mizuki typed back. “And must you always eavesdrop in Jupiter’s conversations?”

“Eavesdropping in conversations that are interesting is my thing,” they answered. “By the way, which one of those turtles is the hottest?”

Mizuki rolled her eyes playfully. 

“I’m gonna ignore you said that,” she typed. 

“Did they just ask about one of us being hot?” Leo smirked as he read over her shoulder. 

Mizuki yelped and quickly put away her phone. She glared at the red-eared slider turtle still smirking at her. 

“So, did it work?” She asked the turtles. 

“No. No, it didn’t,” Mikey shook his head defeated. 

“Okay, ideas, people,” Donnie said, huddled with his brothers and Mizuki. “My eyes need extreme skateboarding ASAP.”

“Maybe next time, let’s not put the WiFi in a high-traffic crash zone,” Leo replied. 

He and Donnie glared at one another, but Mizuki stepped in between them. 

“Something we can fix after we find the place where you guys can watch your skateboarding finals,” she told them. 

“WiFi! That’s it,” Raph lit up and brought the turtles and Mizuki closer. “I know what to do.”

*****

Mikey switched on the lever of the generator, which turned on the lights at the growing power. 

The turtles and Mizuki sat in the food court, watching Donnie’s tablet. 

“Gilbert’s Department Store after hours—an ideal par excellence, Raphael,” he said to the snapping turtle. 

“I was due,” Raph laughed. 

“And thanks to April’s job here last year, we have the WiFi password. One,” Donnie put in the one-digit password. 

The screen then changed to the ramp of the skateboarding finals. 

“We’ll be right back with more skateboarding. Brought to you by Ice Tray brand trays for ice.”

“Yes!” The turtles cheered. 

Mizuki smiled at their enthusiasm. 

“I love you guys, and watching this with all of you is my favorite brother bonding day of the year,” Mikey hugged Donnie. 

Leo and Raph pulled Mizuki in and embraced Donnie as well. 

Donnie seemed deadpanned, but smiled when he saw Mizuki beaming at him. 

The brothers soon sat in separate tables, watching the finals in their own devices. Mizuki occasionally peeked over Donnie’s shoulders to watch the finals and return to whatever she was looking at. 

A loud crash resonated from the other side of the mall. Mizuki looked up and her eyes narrowed. 

“You guys hear that?” She asked the brothers. 

“You mean that loud bang? No,” Leo replied to her without looking away from his screen. 

“I heard that, too,” Raph said, looking up from his device. 

“I’m gonna go check it out,” Mizuki prepared her fans and started towards the source of the crash. “You guys stay here.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Mizuki stared at them deadpanned at their careless responses before she leaped off the balcony of the food court and made her way to the origins of the noise. 

She soon found where the noise came from and hid behind a mannequin. She saw two shadows, which looked familiar to her. 

She gasped quietly as the two Foot Clan men stood in front of a jewelry store. 

The Foot Lieutenant held up a torch over his flaming head. The torch lit up and he began to break a metal gate of the jewelry store apart. 

Mizuki then noticed a bronze hand with a ruby ring on one of its fingers. 

“Oh, no...” she whispered. 

She quietly backed away until she was a safe distance from the Foot Clan members and headed back hastily to the turtles’ location. 

“Guys!” Mizuki panted and stopped near the brothers. “The Foot Clan members! They’re back, and they’re stealing jewelry!” 

“What?!” Raph looked up from his screen and narrowed his eyes. “Gear up, fellas. Time to show ‘em what we think of that.”

“Yeah, okay, you mean like after we’re done watching the finals? Cool,” Leo said, not looking away from his screen. 

“Come on, Leo, crime never takes a break,” Raph slid up next to Leo and pleaded with him. “So neither can we.”

“I’m not sure I follow,” Donnie added. “You mean, like, on commercials?”

“Listen to me. By the time the finals are over, they’ll be gone with the jewelry they’ll be taking,” Mizuki reasoned. 

“Oh, I would get up, but...” Mikey smirked as he stared at his device. “My butt is too comfy.”

Raph slapped himself in the forehead. “Oh, man you guys are killing me.”

“You are hopeless,” Mizuki mumbled in Japanese. 

A louder crash echoed from the jewelry store. The Foot Clan members must have gotten inside now. 

“Look, this is serious, fellas. Okay?” Raph glared at his brothers. 

They all only replied carelessly. Mizuki sighed and shook her head unimpressed. 

“Fine!” Raph groaned. “We’ll try to do both—fight bad guys and watch skating. hey, we are real heroes.”

“Yeah!” The turtles cheered. 

“Let’s get ‘em!” 

“Sydney’s signing autographs for the judges before she goes...” 

The turtles perked up and glanced back down at their electronics. 

“This is not going to end well,” Mizuki muttered. 

With Mizuki leading them to the jewelry store, the brothers watched the finals on their devices. She finally saw the Foot Clan members with the ruby ring on the bronze hand and narrowed her eyes at them. 

“Alright, hotheads!” Raph called to them. 

The Foot Brute and Lieutenant turned around and saw them. 

“Hand over the ruby ring and—“ Raph started. 

“Sydney Allen is climbing up the Mega-Ramp as I speak!” 

The brothers turned back to their devices and excitedly chattered. 

Mizuki sighed annoyed and turned her attention back to the Foot Clan men. 

“As he was saying,” she started. “Put the ruby ring down, so you won’t have to miss a limb.”

The turtles soon turned away from their tablets and faced the villains again. 

“Look here, forehead flambé, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way,” Leo placed his elbow over his knee next to Mizuki. 

“But since we only have a quick minute till Sydney’s back on, we are really lobbying for the easy way,” Donnie gently pushed Leo aside and smirked. 

“Super easy,” Mikey popped up. 

“Less talky, more smashy—“ Raph pushed his brothers and Mizuki aside and started for the Foot Clan men. 

The Foot Lieutenant punched Raph in the face, causing him to stumble backward on a few mannequins. 

“So that’s a hard pass?” Leo asked the bad guys.

“Nice punch, Hoss,” Raph rubbed his head. “Too bad I snagged the ring.”

He held up the hand with the ring still on the finger and grinned victoriously. 

“Nice one, Raph!” Mizuki smiled. 

“What?!” The Foot Lieutenant said in disbelief. “You have no idea what you’re dealing with. Give it back now!” 

He threw five origami paper, which shifted to soldiers. They all charged at the turtles and Mizuki. 

“These paper guys—“ Leo grunted when one of them landed on him. 

With the rest of the origami soldiers now fighting the turtles, Mikey having the hand with the ring, Mizuki faced off the Lieutenant. 

He charged at her and swung his arm at her, but she blocked it off and kicked him under his chin. 

He then attempted to throw shurikens at her. She ran up the wall as they were thrown at her and landed on her feet with ease. 

Mizuki unfurled her fans and ran at him. 

Her hands and fans glowed electric green as small lightning bolts formed. She threw her fans at the Lieutenant, who barely avoided them in time. 

“Impossible,” the Lieutenant gasped shocked.

The fans flew back to her hands, and Mizuki took a moment to stare at them in astonishment. 

“How did...” she pondered aloud. 

One of the origami soldiers leaped at her from behind. 

Mizuki saw it coming and slammed her foot against their cheek, the soldier dissolving to paper again as electric lines rippled from the hit. 

She gasped lightly when she saw how easily she had defeated the origami soldier. 

She breathed heavily as the paper bits fluttered to the ground. 

“The Emerald Storm,” the Foot Brute rasped before he was suddenly knocked to the ground by Raph. 

Mikey rolled up near Mizuki, his phone dropping out of his hands. The Foot Lieutenant caught it and stared at it, an ad appearing.

“My Sydney box! No!” Mikey shouted. 

“A trade,” the Lieutenant smirked. “Tell the purple one to give us back our plundered prize...”

He turned towards Donnie, who was fighting off the origami soldier, with the ruby ring in the hand on the end of his staff. “And then I’ll return your precious phone.”

“Or we can do it my way,” Mikey held up a coat hanger and toss it at him. 

The hanger caught the phone and flew towards the others just as Donnie defeated his opponent. 

“Yes! Guys, catch it!” 

The hanger knocked Leo’s phone off his hands and both electronics hit the ground. The screens are now cracked from the impact. 

“No!” 

“Take me instead!” Mikey slid up to the broken devices on his knees. 

He lit up suddenly. “Wait, Donnie’s tablet! It’s our last hope!” 

Donnie, who was holding his own device with one of his robot arms, flipped his staff around. “Phalange sandwich!” 

He jumped up in the air, the brothers turning around and screaming. Just as he was about to hit the Lieutenant, the opponent kicked him to Leo, both brothers knocked down to the ground. 

The Foot Brute picked up Raph from behind and battled him. 

Mikey looked up as the Lieutenant was about to attack him. 

Mizuki stepped in front of Mikey and kicked him away from the younger turtle. 

Raph threw the Foot Brute over him and fell to the ground. 

The Lieutenant was about to grab the hand with the ring, but Mizuki grabbed him by the ankles and threw him around until she let him go, sending him flying towards the Foot Brute. 

Her eyes went big when she noticed that the two Foot men are flying towards Donnie. 

“Donnie, watch out!” She shouted. 

Donnie heard her warning in time and ducked down. His tablet was now crushed underneath the enemies’ impact. 

The turtles screamed horrified, apart from Leo, who was knocked out on the floor. 

The now broken tablet laid on the floor in front of them, who fell to their knees in despair. 

“No!” 

“No way!” 

“Is there even anything left to fight for?”

“You think she got it on her first try?” Donnie sighed and turned to his brothers. 

“If anybody could,” Leo replied sagging. 

Mizuki saw the Foot Brute and Lieutenant sneaking around them with the ring in the hand now in their clutches. “Uh, guys...”

“My bad, fellas,” Raph interjected, not noticing what she was gesturing to. “I never should have thought we could watch Sydney and stop them.”

“Um, guys...” Mizuki spoke louder. 

“You’re right,” Mikey said. “We’re heroes. Heroes don’t wait until commercial.”

“Guys!” Mizuki yelled, finally catching their attention. “They’re getting away!” 

She gestured to the Foot Clan men, who were laughing evilly while holding the ring in the hand on the escalator. 

“They’ve got the ruby ring!” Leo exclaimed. 

“Aww, nah,” Raph gritted his teeth. “They ruined our night. We’re ruining theirs.”

He jumped to the sports store and stood in front of a skateboarding display. He took a skateboard from the mannequin’s hands and smirked at Leo. 

“Hey, Leo,” he said and tossed the skateboard to Leo. “Another try at the 14-40?”

Leo glanced at the skateboard, then at Raph, before smirking widely. 

“Cowabunga!” He hollered and skidded down the escalator. 

He rode up another escalator and flew up in the air. 

The brothers stare at Leo with heart eyes, while Mizuki clasped her hands together with anticipation. 

Leo rode up to the Foot Clan men and took the ring only, but not the hand, and knocked the two villains down. 

“Yeah!” 

“Yes!” The turtles and Mizuki all cheered. 

The Foot Brute and Lieutenant fell down the floors of the mall, while Leo landed safely with the ring in his hand and dabbed victoriously. 

“Whoo-hoo!”

“Yeah!”

“You did it!” Mizuki whooped. 

“Not a 14-40,” Donnie remarked, his arms folded across his chest. “But three rotations and a ring-saving steal. Boo-to-the-yeah!”

“Too bad, so sad,” Mikey excitedly grunted. “Better luck next time.”

Mizuki glared down at the Foot Brute and Lieutenant, who groaned on the very bottom floor and coughed. 

“Yeah, serves you right,” she called down to them, smirking heroically. 

“Look what I found at the guard desk,” Leo held up a small TV station in his shoulder. “It’s battery-powered!” 

“Yes!”

“Yeah!”

Later on, the turtles and Mizuki watched the finals on the small station in the clothes store. Mizuki scooted closer for a better look next to Donnie, who blushed when he got close to her. 

“So close on the first two. I bet she’s gonna nail the 14-40 now.”

“I believe in you, Sydney!”

“Let’s go, Sydney!” 

“I’ll say it again—I love you, guys,” Mikey said. 

“Last chance. Can she do it, folks?”

The girl jumped off the ramp and flew up into the air, spinning around on her skateboard. 

“One, two, three—“

The screen to a news report in a second. 

“We interrupt our program to report a break-in at Gilbert’s Department Store.”

“No!” The turtles all yelled in dismay. 

Mikey yelled the longest as he slid down from behind Raph, who glanced at him with the others unimpressed.

*****

The Foot Brute and Lieutenant ran down the alleyway before stopping for a moment. 

“Fools,” the Lieutenant cackled. “They thought we were after a puny ring.”

He held up their true prize: the hand that was holding the ring. 

“And what about that girl?” The Foot Brute asked his comrade. “The one with the blue hair?”

“The Emerald Storm?” The Lieutenant glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. “Those turtles were with her when they ambushed us.”

He smirked evilly as he thought of something. “The moment she faces us again on her own, we’ll be ready for her.”


	16. Hypno! Part Deux

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Note: the chapter is going to be like the episode, except when Donnie and Mizuki was in this, and they would take Raph and Leo’s place of helping April and fight off Hypno-Potamus)

April stood outside a few meters from the school, giving herself pep talks and practicing breathing, while Donnie leaned next to a tree deadpanned. She wore her green jacket, a yellow and blue dress, sandals and blue earrings. 

Donnie was dressed up in a purple and white suit with a purple bow tie and pants, but he still had his goggles and purple mask on. 

Mayhem sat next to her and wagged his tail. 

“You can do this,” April exhaled. “You fought monsters, been to hidden cities, destroyed robots, you’ve—“

She stopped walking and sagged. “Who are you kidding? School dances are way more dangerous. Why am I even here?”

April turned to walk away, but Mayhem teleported to where she was about to step. He landed on her shoulder and teleported her back to her original position. 

He threw his hands in a punching motion, purring and squeaking, and confidently placed his hands on his hips. 

“The little guy’s right,” Donnie smiled at April, then whispered to himself. “Though I have no idea what he’s saying, though.”

“You’re right,” April beamed bravely as she crouched in front of Mayhem. “I can do this—“

She stood back up and positioned her hands on her hips, too. “For Taylor, the coolest girl in school.”

“Time for you to jet,” she waved her hands at the dog-like creature. “I can’t be like Siegel the lizard boy. I gotta be cool.”

Mayhem squeaked and teleported away. 

“Hold on, we can’t leave without Mizuki first,” Donnie leaned himself off the tree, his arms still folded. “Besides, she really needs to have that first homecoming dance feeling.”

“You’re right,” April lit up. 

She pulled out her phone and began to type on the messenger. “Yo, Mizzy! Where are you, girl? We’re getting ready to go.” 

Just as she was about to hit send, a soft thud vibrated from behind. 

Donnie turned around, following April’s motion, and blushed at the sight of the blue-haired girl. 

Mizuki wore a teal-green dress that reached below her knees, matching-colored flats, her golden locket, and a pearl bracelet. She had her hair down with a bun tied behind her head and earrings that like the bracelet on her ears. 

“Oh, my gosh, girl,” April gushed. “You look amazing!”

“Oh, w-wow...you—you look beautiful,” Donnie breathed in wonder, still blushing. 

Mizuki chuckled and pushed back a loose strand behind her ear, her face turning rosy red from Donnie’s compliment. 

“Thanks for lending me the dress, April,” she said to the brown-skinned girl. 

“Sure, Mizzy,” April acknowledged. “Now come on. The homecoming dance ain’t waiting for us.”

Donnie and Mizuki turned to one another before he lent out his arm to her. She smiled and wrapped her hands around it in return. 

They followed behind April as they approached the school. 

Earlier that week, April had asked Donnie and Mizuki to go to the school homecoming dance with her for reasons that seemed reasonable; to help them have a high school event experience, and to save her from the humiliation of not being cool. 

Donnie would have denied the request and stayed behind to finish the projects he had been working on, but Mizuki quickly stated that they would both love to go, much to his surprised unwillingness. 

Mizuki’s death glare and April’s pleading eyes were all it took to convince Donnie to finally give in and join the homecoming dance with her. 

Now here he is. Walking around the outside schoolyard with Mizuki holding onto his arm and rethinking his decisions. 

The environment of the schoolyard was vibrant. Balloons littered the ground, strapped down by weights to prevent them from floating away. Lights were hung up on the outside school walls. 

A hippo float was surrounded by velvet ropes and a sign with a girl’s face on it. 

As the three were walking around, people in formal wear were on their phones and taking pictures of the float. 

“Taylor Martin—the coolest girl in school,” April said, her hands stuffed in her jacket pocket. 

“I bet she must be nice,” Donnie remarked to her.   
“Hey, April!” A male voice called. 

April, Donnie, and Mizuki noticed a boy with a clean-shaved head wearing a purple shirt, blue tie, and pants running towards them. 

“Dale,” April cringed and slapped herself in the forehead. “Oh, no.”

“My favorite person,” Dale greeted her. 

“Hey, you going to this shindig?” April asked him calmly. “I usually wouldn’t really go to one of these ‘dances’, but I actually got invited by Taylor Martin to sit at the cool kid’s table, so…”

She turned around to leave, but Dale spoke up and held up his phone. “She invited me too!” 

April stopped, cringing again. “Oh, I thought she just invited me, but I guess you got invited too. That’s cool.”

“Cool,” she whispered disappointed. 

“Hey, you never introduced me to your friends here,” Dale gestured to Donnie and Mizuki. 

“Oh, right,” April stood next to the two. “Dale, this is Don…”

“Othello Von Ryan,” Donnie cut her off. “And my lovely date, Mizuki Harrison.”

Mizuki felt her cheeks go hot at the mention of date, but she smiled politely at Dale. “Pleasure to meet you, Dale.”

“Love the costume, man!” Dale remarked at Donnie. “Looks great on ya!” 

“Well, thank you,” Donnie beam proudly as he walked alongside the other three humans to the entrance.

“Donothello Von Ryan, huh?” Mizuki raised a mischievous eyebrow at the soft-shell turtle. 

“Hey, someone needs to have a full name to blend in,” Donnie mumbled to her. “And at least this disguise is paying off.”

“Right,” Mizuki nodded her head. 

When the four stepped inside, the environment was actually what they anticipated. 

A sign that was hanging over the gym floor read, “Have A Magical Time”. Various balloons also were littered in the air. 

Tables with magic show props and white tablecloths were placed in different areas. A table with food was all placed out, but no one was taking anything from it. 

The lights above were shining various colors to match the dance’s theme. 

But no one was dancing, talking or even eating from the food table. 

They were all on their phones as if they were…mind-controlled. 

“What’s wrong with them?” Mizuki wondered aloud. 

April didn’t hear what she was saying, but she whispered with wonder. “Taylor Martin…”

A girl with blond up in a bun turned around to glance at her and the three teens. She was dressed up in a pink dress with a light pink tie around her waist, earrings and high heel shoes. 

April laughed and waved to catch her attention before quickly walking over to the table where the cool kids are. 

“April! Dale!” Taylor greeted them, while she also had her phone out. “So glad you came. And who are these new friends of yours?”

“Donothello Von Ryan and Mizuki Harrison,” Mizuki kindly introduced herself and Donnie. “You must be Taylor Martin, I assume.”

“Guilty as charged, girl,” Taylor laughed. 

A boy with a lizard on his shoulder walked past them while staring down at his phone in a strange trance. 

“Lizard boy,” April shuddered. 

Taylor grabbed April and Dale by the shoulders and pushed them to the cool kid’s table. 

Donnie and Mizuki walked over to the table behind them and found two free seats. 

“Sit!” Taylor smiled. “We were all just talking about the most amazing new game, Hippo Crush.”

“So fun,” the teens at the table all said in a monotone-like trance and went back to their phones. 

“What do you think is going on?” Mizuki whispered to Donnie. 

“No clue, Mizuki,” Donnie replied and narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “But something’s definitely fishy.”

“Have you all played it yet?” Taylor asked April. 

“Uh, I’ve been meaning to download it,” the brown-haired girl replied uncertainly. 

“How are we gonna be besties if you don’t have the game?”   
“Got it!” Dale held up his phone to show the girls and Donnie an app. 

The app read, “Hippo Crush” with a swirling background. 

“Oh—okay,” April pulled out her phone and found the app that Taylor had told her about. 

The screen said “Downloading”, but then changed to Donnie’s face with his finger waving around. 

“Donnie says no, no, no,” his voice said. 

“What the?” April gasped. 

“Donnie says no, no, no. Donnie says no, no, no.”

“Would you excuse me a second?” April asked the blonde girl. 

She then got up from her seat and pulled Donnie and Mizuki off their own seats. 

She closed the doors to the gym behind her and pulled the soft-shell turtle close to her. 

“What is a Donnie Blocker?” She whispered to him irritated. 

“I put it on your phone so you wouldn’t get hacked or download anything with malware because I know how much you’re into fantasy—“ Donnie explained.

“The only thing Donnie’s blocking is April from being cool!” April yelled in his ear. 

Mizuki jumped at the high volume of her voice. 

Mayhem instantly appeared beside Mizuki and squeaked fearfully. 

“What are you doing here?” April asked him desperately. “I told you to go! Cool kids don’t bring their pets to school. Do you want people to pick on me?”

“No, wait a minute,” Mizuki stopped her and knelt to Mayhem’s level. “What is it, Mayhem?” 

The doors unexpectedly opened behind them. 

Mayhem perked up shocked and teleported himself, Mizuki and Donnie away in time before the teens started walking in a single file line. 

They appeared behind a row of lockers and peeked around the corner, narrowing their eyes in suspicion. 

The teens from the dance were now walking behind one another and staring down on their phones. The screens were now all pink, as well as their eyes. 

Donnie, Mizuki, and Mayhem then saw April conversing with Taylor, who was acting stranger than usual, before they started following the students. 

“You don’t think…” Mizuki’s eyes went big. 

“Oh, boy,” Donnie realized angrily. “Hypno-Potamus.”

“I think they’re heading for the auditorium,” Mizuki hypothesized. “Mayhem, see if you can take us there.”  
Mayhem squeaked and teleported them outside the auditorium. 

They hid behind the lockers as the students and April enter the auditorium one by one in a steady, slow pace. 

“We have to find out what’s going on,” Mizuki whispered. “Let’s follow them.”

“Hold on, wait,” Donnie stopped her. “We just gotta wait until they’re all in.”

Soon, the last student entered the auditorium with their eyes on the game screen. 

Donnie nodded, and he, Mayhem and Mizuki snuck up to the doors and peeked through the door windows. 

The students were sitting in the auditorium, the darkness partially lit up by the pink screens. Far down the rows, Mizuki can see a head of puffy hair. 

“April,” she silently said. 

A spotlight shone on the stage, signaling an entrance of a familiar mutant. 

“Everyone, give it up for the master magician and inventor of Hippo Crush...”

A small hat popped up on stage. Mizuki, Donnie, and Mayhem narrowed their eyes with suspicion. 

Smoke appeared as the hat bounced lightly. A buff figure stood in the spotlight. 

“Ta-da! Hypno-Potamus!” 

“Not him again!” Mizuki gasped. 

“I knew it!” Donnie clenched his fist. 

Mayhem growled at the mutant hippo. 

“Hypno is great,” the teens all chanted in the same monotone voices. 

“That bitter biscuit, Noah Sheck—“ Hypno-Potamus gestured to the picture of a kid with red and black hair, freckles, and an emo look. “Ooh, he made a middle school disappear.”

The curtains closed behind him. 

“Well, forget that hack. I’m telling you. Tonight, I’m gonna make a high school disappear, starting with this mascot!” 

A kid in the school mascot, a dragon, was hovered above the stage by chains around his arms. 

“We have to do something,” Mizuki desperately whispered to Donnie.

“Donnie’s on it,” the soft shell said. 

He thought for a moment, tapping his finger on his chin, until he came up with an idea. 

“I’ve got it! Come on!” 

He quickly took Mizuki by the hand and ran over to the schoolyard. 

“Mayhem! Stay here and see if you can rescue April as long as you can!” Donnie commanded to the dog-like creature. 

Mayhem squeaked and teleported away. 

“Donnie, what are you doing?!” Mizuki asked, catching up to him. 

He didn’t answer her, even as they ran out to the schoolyard, where Taylor’s hippo float rested. 

They jumped over the velvet rope and got into the float, which turned out to be a golf cart vehicle underneath. 

“Oh, no, we can’t,” Mizuki shook her head. “That’s the cool girl’s float. She’ll be mad at us if we ruin it.”

“Trust me on this one, Miz,” Donnie reassured her. 

He went underneath the controls and started to cut the wires out to start it. 

Meanwhile, Mizuki saw April running with the hypnotized teens after her. 

“Donnie, hurry!” She cried. 

“Aaaaannd...got it!” Donnie exclaimed. 

The golf cart started up and rumbled under the float structure. 

“Ready for a ride, malady?” Donnie smirked, extending his hand out to her. 

“Yeah, but what does that...” Mizuki never got to finish her sentence, for Donnie pulled her in the golf cart and placed her next to him. 

He pressed the go pedal with his foot, and the golf cart lurched forward. Mizuki shrieked as she held onto the seat for dear life. 

The vehicle broke out of the hippo structure, which crumbled apart, and rode up the school steps and straight into the building. 

The golf cart whizzed past various students, as Mizuki and Donnie frantically scanned the crowd for any sign of April and Mayhem. 

“I can’t see them!” The blue-haired girl yelled. “I don’t know where they are!” 

Donnie pulled down his goggles and scanned the building for any sign of the two until he smirked. “Found them!” 

“Hang on tight, Mizzy!” He pressed the go pedal hard.

The golf cart rode towards the wall and was suddenly flying through the air. 

“Donnie!” Mizuki closed her eyes, shrieking. 

The vehicle slammed through the wall and over April and Mayhem and the other hypnotized students. It hit the ground safely and skidded to a halt. 

“That was awesome!” Donnie laughed victoriously. 

His smile fell to a worried expression when he saw Mizuki, who gripped the seats with a freaked out look. 

“You okay?” He asked her. 

“I’ll be fine soon, I promise,” Mizuki nodded hastily, breathing heavily. 

“April, get on, hurry!” Donnie called to April and Mayhem. 

She quickly ran past the students and jumped on the cart behind Mizuki. Donnie pulled the lever to forward and pressed the go pedal. 

The golf cart lurched forward again and steered away from the hypnotized students. 

“Where’s the exit?” Donnie asked as he drove.

“No, we can’t leave,” April protested. “Hypno’s gonna make the school disappear.”

“What?” Mizuki gasped in horror. 

“That mutant hippo’s got doom hats hidden all over the school, but it’s gonna be fine,” April explained. “I’ve got a plan.”

Donnie pressed the stop pedal, the golf cart screeching to a stop in front of the auditorium doors. He and Mizuki jumped off while April took the wheel with Mayhem beside her. 

“You gotta break Hypno’s spell and free my friends...” April started. 

Donnie and Mizuki raised a questionable eyebrow at her. 

“Okay, acquaintances,” April sighed. “Just free everybody!” 

She then drove away to get her plan going with Mayhem, leaving Donnie and Mizuki at the auditorium doors. 

“Ready to make sure this hippo doesn’t ruin homecoming night?” Donnie smirked and pulled out his robo-staff. 

“Let’s do this,” Mizuki snarled and unfurled her fans. 

They bust the doors open and found Hypno-Potamus sitting and staring at his cards. 

“Finally, you’re back. I was—“ Hypno-Potamus started and looked up from his cards, but groaned when he saw Donnie and Mizuki. “Oh, it’s you idiots.”

“Oh, Hypno!” Donnie smiled sweetly in a sing-song tone, before scowling at him. “Welcome to another addition of Donnie-terpiece Theater. Tonight’s episode—bad bruises that will be over your face.”

“But first, how do you make a school disappear?” Mizuki pretended to ask the hippo mutant with interest. 

“A good magician never reveals his plans,” Hypno-Potamus stood up from his chair, glaring at Donnie and Mizuki. “But a good villain always does. Oh, I’m torn, guys. I’ve gotta be honest.”

“Therefore, rings!” Hypno-Potamus pulled out his rings and threw them straight at the two. 

Donnie and Mizuki jumped out of the way in time as the rings created a small explosion. 

The mutant hippo then pulled out a deck of cards from underneath his sleeve. 

“Is this your card?” He smirked evilly. 

He fired the first one at Mizuki, who flipped off the chair and avoided the attack. 

Every time he shot cards at her, she managed to get away from being hit by them. 

“Hey, are you friends with Noah Sheck?” Donnie asked the mutant villain, flipping his bo-staff. “We’re big fans. Sheckter-piece now!” 

“Really? At this time?” Mizuki rolled her eyes at him. 

“You would be,” Hypno-Potamus growled. “He wears knit caps...in summer! Who does that?” 

He aimed the wand-knives at the two, who dodged them or hit them away safely. 

“Oh, really, because wanting to make a school disappear reminds me of his trick. Maybe you’re the hack!” Mizuki charged forward and threw her fans at him. 

The fans only circled around him until one hit him from behind and the other slammed itself in the face. 

A few doves flew out of his suit from the impact. 

“My doves!” Hypno-Potamus whined and picked up the hat off the stage floor. “Say—rabbit, rabbit.”

One by one, small rabbits jumped out from the hat and charged towards Donnie and Mizuki. 

Apart from the soft-shell turtle, Mizuki jumped over them and leaped up towards the boy in the mascot costume. 

She took the head off the mascot and roared, slamming the head onto Hypno-Potamus. 

The mutant hippo grunted and flew through the wall and skidded across the outside schoolyard. 

Mizuki tossed the head to the side before rushing over to help Donnie. 

She threw her fans at the remaining rabbits, sending them flying off of him. Donnie sighed in relief and took her hand, getting off the ground. 

Hypno-Potamus shook his head, blubbering, and snarled. He took out a phone from his suit pocket. 

“Oh, no!” Mizuki cried in terror. 

The hypnotized students are now standing outside the school with Hypno-Potamus raising the phone in the air and laughing evilly. 

“Mezmer-roo!” The magician exclaimed. 

Mayhem suddenly appeared over him with the hats that were inside the school and landed on top of him. A second later, they all disappeared in a bulb of blue. 

“Mayhem!” Donnie cried. 

Another few seconds later, a loud boom resonated from a distance. A bright pink light shone in the air as the explosion impact ran throughout the entire school. 

The students groaned when they were finally out of the trance, some clutching their heads gently. 

Taylor gasped and looked around before staring at Donnie and Mizuki, who nervously waved at her through the hole. 

April rolled up slowly in the now damaged golf cart and mumbled nervously as it came to a slow stop. The vehicle then broke down and sputtered before dying out completely. 

Mayhem appeared in April’s arms again and purred while she cradled him. 

“You, your ugly cat and your friends destroyed my float, O’Neil!” Taylor angrily grunted. 

She then walked away in a huff, the two boys who were chasing after April following behind her. 

Mizuki growled and was about to get after her, but Donnie gently gripped her hand. 

“Trust me, Miz,” he told her. “She’s not worth it.”

Mizuki then sighed and pouted to where Taylor had gone off to. “Fine. But if she ever thinks about talking to April and Mayhem like that again, she won’t be lucky.”

“It’s okay, Mizzy,” April added, still cuddling Mayhem. “I’ve got my friends here.”

Donnie and Mizuki smiled at her in reply. 

“So, April, if you, uh, you know, don’t have a date for the next shindig, I—“ dale started, walking up to April and rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Not now, Dale,” April cut him off. “Not now.”

“Well, that was a fun night,” Donnie stretched his back and put away his bo-staff as he stepped out through the hole. “Though it’s not over yet. Miz, you staying?” 

“No way, I have enough in one night,” Mizuki chuckled, following behind him. “All in all, not bad for an evening hanging out in a school event.”

“Huh, guess you could say that,” Donnie commented, smiling. 

Suddenly, the students started cheering, a few of them whistling. Donnie and Mizuki were confused until they saw their faces on a large screen over the school doors. 

The words above were saying, “Homecoming King and Queen”. 

Donnie and Mizuki blushed intensely for a few seconds before turning to April and Mayhem. 

April only gave a shrug and beamed at them. 

The two then grinned at one another while still blushing. Their hands intertwined behind them as the students continued to cheer for them.


	17. The Gumbus

Mizuki and April were hanging out in the living room, with the blue-haired girl sitting on the floor beside April. They were watching a rom-horror film that shone from the projector, a few times nearly jumping at the heart-stopping scenes. 

Mizuki felt someone coming up from behind her and sucking in a breath and smirked smugly. 

“Don’t even think about it, Leonardo,” she said as the same person held his breath short. 

Leo blew a raspberry in defeat and stepped next to her and April. 

“How did you know it was me?” He asked Mizuki, his hands on his hips, and raised an eyebrow at her. 

“If I tell you a secret that I used to sense someone behind me, don’t jinx it,” she smirked victoriously. “Now where have you been?” 

“Just...in the workout gym,” Leo answered, with small drops of sweat streaming down his forehead. 

“Really? Because I can hear you trying to do some tricks on the skating ramp,” Mizuki grinned again. 

April covered her mouth as she giggled, while Leo pouted at the full-lipped girl. 

“You and your super hearing,” he muttered. 

Mikey’s screams resonated from another room, causing the girls and Leo to jump at the sound. 

They quickly ran towards the source of the screams and skidded to a stop in front of the archway. 

Mikey was hiding underneath a blanket in a pillow fort, his tablet a few inches away from where he is trying to hide. 

“Uh, what’cha watching, Miguel?” Leo picked up the tablet and examined the device. 

“And what’s with this fort of yours?” Mizuki raised an eyebrow. 

“Oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh!” Mikey popped up from the pillows with a terrified expression. “I was just watching my favorite can-stacking channel!”

Leo, April, and Mizuki stared at him perplexed. 

“Can-stacking...okay,” April said uncertainly. 

Mikey popped up next Leo and April, his face with horror. “It’s a thing.” 

“There’s this one supermarket stock boy,” he pulled the tablet with Leo still holding it and scrolled through the various videos. “He builds forts, towers, national monuments!” 

“Yeah, I see his channel has a like,” Leo studies the top of the channel. 

“I would’ve liked it twice if I could,” Mikey stated. 

“Anyway, he’s at the store after hours, and...” he found the video that he was watching and clicked on it. “You gotta see it!” 

The video then changed to a boy wearing glasses and dressed in a store outfit and holding a flashlight. 

“And now, I shall complete the most difficult stack of all, only completed by one other stock boy:...”

He turned on the flashlight and pointed it at a Lady Liberty tower made of cans. “The Lady Liberty stack!” 

Cans clattering loudly prompted Stockboy to turn towards the source, his eyes widening. 

“Hello? Is someone there?” 

He turned the camera towards the noise, glowing light on the aisles. A can rolled on the ground and stopped. 

Metallic rattling came from another direction. 

Stockboy turned the camera back to himself, panting heavily. He turned back towards the Lady Liberty stack. 

He slowly turned around, only to let out a scream before static appeared on the screen. 

The camera clattered to the floor as the flashlight fell to the floor. Stockboy crawled towards the camera and panted heavily. 

“It’s the Gumbus!” He was pulled back suddenly, his yells echoing. 

The screen then changed to the end footage, Stockboy‘s voiceover telling the viewers to subscribe and donate. 

“Whoa!” April said, Mizuki and Leo staring at the screen skeptical. “What’s a Gumbus?”

Mikey popped up beside Mizuki and April and grabbed onto the brown-skinned girl’s waist. “It’s a ghost that haunts the Stock-&-Shop!” 

April smiled and patted him on the head. 

“Oh, pfft,” Leo scoffed and threw the tablet over his shoulder. “There’s gotta be a simple answer. Earthquakes, magnets, giant prankster mice. There’s no such thing as ghosts.”

“What?” Mikey glared at him and let go of April. “How can you say there’s no such thing as ghosts when there’s such a thing as us? The Gumbus is real.”

“Alright, guys. Just calm down here,” Mizuki stepped in between the two turtles and separated them. 

“Only one way to settle this heated debate:...” April stepped next to Mizuki and smirked. “We head up to the Stock-&-Shop and tamper with the mysterious forces of the underworld.”

She laughed evilly as Mikey cowered behind Mizuki, shaking greatly. 

“Uh...” he chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m fine just getting the pants scared off of me in my pillow fort.”

He turned back towards his pillow fort, but Leo grabbed him by the wrist, stopping him. 

“Oh, no. April’s right,” Leo stated and began to drag him away. “I’m gonna prove to you there’s no such thing as a Gumbus.”

“Leo, no, no! I don’t wanna go! Please!” Mikey pleaded, which fell to deaf ears. 

“Yeah, ghost hunting!” April cheered. 

Mizuki rolled her eyes playfully at April’s enthusiasm and walked alongside her. 

*****

The four grunted and screamed as they fell through the vents of the Stock-&-Shop. They broke through the door and fell to the ground below. 

Leo landed first, then Mikey and April. A large object hit Leo on the head, and he grunted loudly in pain. 

The last two were on top of the red-eared slider turtle while Mizuki landed on her feet with ease. 

“Mikey, why do you have that thing?” Leo glowered at the younger brother. 

“To suck up the ghost,” Mikey replied and picked up the vacuum and turned on the flashlight attached to it. “It’s lined with tinfoil to keep him in.”

“Guys, check this out,” April shone her flashlight around the store aisles. “This place is like Christmas Morning for food.”

Mizuki took a moment to examine the atmosphere of the store. Apart from the lights from the freezers, the whole place was dark. 

“This place is creepy,” Mikey whimpered. 

“Creepy or awesome?” April smirked. “Answer: both”

Metallic jangled resonated from behind them. 

Mikey gasped and turned around. “What was that?”

“What?” Leo sighed annoyed. 

“I heard something,” Mikey gasped terrified. 

“I hear something, too,” Mizuki agreed. 

The four shine their flashlights on the source of the noises. A model train moved on the tracks on the dairy aisle. 

“A model train. Simple answer,” Leo smirked and laughed haughtily. 

Mikey pouted, while Mizuki patted his head consolingly. 

“What kind of sicko puts a model train in a grocery store?” He growled. 

“Focus, guys,” April interjected. “We came here to see a ghost, and a ghost we shall see.”

“Don’t try to scare Mikey any further, though,” Mizuki reminded her quietly. 

April nodded in understanding. 

As the four walked down the aisles, she can hear Mikey yelp repeatedly as he quickly gaped at numerous items that seemed scary to him. 

She instantly felt bad for him, since she knew how scared Mikey could easily get. 

She then heard him scream loudly and turn on the vacuum. She nearly gave in to the urge to laugh when she saw Leo’s face nearly sucked in by the vacuum. 

“Hey, I’m not a ghost!” Leo’s voice was muffled in the vacuum. 

He pulled the pack away and glared at him. 

“And now we know for sure,” Mikey nodded. 

“What is the holdup, guys?” April placed her hand on her hip while shining her flashlight at the three. 

“I don’t know. Ask Mikey,” Leo gestured to the younger turtle agitated. 

“Oh, nothing,” Mizuki joked. “Just Mikey almost trapping Leo in his ghost trap.”

“I feel like somebody’s watching us!” Mikey yelped in terror. 

“Me too. Isn’t it great?” April asked, grinning widely. 

“I don’t know about you guys,” Mizuki scanned the dark area uneasily. “But I feel like we’re being watched as well.”

“You guys are nuts,” Leo said in disbelief. “The only people here are the four of us.”

A mop suddenly landed on Leo’s head. He screamed loudly and started to thrash around. 

Mikey and Mizuki shouted in fright from the unexpected attack while April screamed in excitement. 

“The Gumbus got Leo!” Mikey grabbed onto April. 

The mop repeatedly hit Leo in the head until he grabbed it and pulled on it. 

“There’s no such thing as a…Gumbus!” He grunted when he finally pulled it towards him. 

He glanced at the person responsible for attacking him, and the flashlights shone on a familiar person. 

“You?” Leo narrowed his eyes at Stockboy, who smiled nervously on the floor. “What’s the big idea?”

“I’m sorry. I thought you were the Gumbus,” Stockboy answered and got up from the floor. “Wait, are you turtles?”

“We’re not into labels,” Mikey shook his head. “All that matters is we’re huge fans of your haunted videos.”

“Always great to meet my fans—in any form,” Stockboy smiled. “Did you subscribe and donate?”

“No, but we’ve been thinking about meaning to,” Mikey shrugged. 

“More like you’re the one meaning to,” Mizuki mumbled to him. 

Stockboy noticed her and pushed up his glasses and wiggled his eyebrows. “Hi, I’m Stockboy. And you are?”

“Way too old for you,” Mizuki placed her hands on her hips, raising an unconvinced eyebrow. 

“So, can you tell us about this awesome ghost?” April asked him giddily. 

“Or “figment” of your imagination,” Leo crossed his arms. 

“Perfect timing. I was about to vlog about that,” Stockboy pulled out his phone and began to record. 

“The Gumbus,” he started. “It all goes back to ancient times: 1987!” 

Mikey yelled and hugged Mizuki tightly around the waist. 

“That really is a long time ago,” she remarked. 

“I know, right?” Stockboy smiled at her. “I’ll spare you the gory details. The greatest stock boy this store has ever seen, Jeremiah Gumbus…got crunched in the chains of the milk processing plant!” 

April scream excitedly. Mizuki gasped in terror, covering her mouth. 

“What happened to sparing the gory details?” Mikey asked. 

“Chain and soul combined,” Stockboy went on. “And now, as the chain-laden Gumbus, he haunts the aisles of the store. Legend has it the only way to free the Gumbus from his eternal torment is…huh?” 

He didn’t notice blue ghostly chains surrounding him until he saw one on his arm. The chains instantly grabbed him and he screamed, dropping the camera in the process. 

“The Gumbus!” He yelled as he was carried away by the chains. 

“Yeah!” April smiled. 

“What?” 

“No!” Mizuki cried. 

Mikey whimpered, holding onto his vacuum and flashlight. 

Stockboy was dragged across the ground until he disappeared in the darkness of the store. When they shone their flashlights on where he went, a stack of cans was all they can see. 

“What?”

“Whoa!” 

“Uh...”

“Got a simple answer for that, Leon?” Mikey smirked at him victoriously. 

“Ugh!” Leo rolled his eyes and stepped next to the cans. “Obviously he’s behind the cans.”

He hit them away and chuckled, gesturing to where Stockboy is. 

Or where he was supposed to be. 

When Leo turned to look at the silhouette of the body, he stopped and did a double take. The words, ‘Save Me’ were written in green ink, and his glasses seemed to be damaged. 

“It can’t be. No, no, no, no, no,” Leo stammered in denial. 

He tried to search for something on the ground and moved the cans aside. “This can’t be happening. There’s gotta be an explanation.”

The cackles of the Gumbus emitted from the aisles. 

“Huh?” 

They turn around to face nothing but the darkness surrounding the aisles. They shine their flashlights at the aisles, trying to find whoever or whatever is there. 

“Anybody there?” April called. 

Mikey whimpered and hugged Mizuki by the waist. She protectively wrapped an arm around him as she squinted her eyes to see in the dark. 

Leo gently shoved past the two and April and shone his own light at the aisles. 

The sound of liquid squelching came closer and closer to the four. 

When they lowered their lights to the floor, they saw a turkey resting in front of them. 

“Uh...a turkey?” Leo raised an eyebrow. 

He reached his hand out slowly to it. 

“I’m alive!” The voice belonging to Stockboy resonated from within the turkey and stood up in a flash. 

Leo babbled and freaked out before barely regaining himself. Mikey yelped and hugged Mizuki closer. 

“It’s a talking turkey!” Leo exclaimed. 

“Guys, it’s me, Stockboy,” the turkey gestured to himself. “The Gumbus trapped me in here. Hold on a second.”

The now alive turkey pulled out a selfie stick from inside and started recording again. 

“Hey, fans,” he cleared his throat. “It’s me, Stockboy...”

Leo laughed nervously, about to lose his mind. “This is happening. This is really happening.” 

Mizuki’s eye twitched from fear as she watched the turkey record itself and recounted the past events that had happened so far. 

“I know, right?” April beamed giddily and picked up Mikey’s vacuum. “Hide behind the giblets. I’ll smash you out!” 

“No! You’ll destroy my soul!” Stockboy protested. “And mess up my inventory.”

“The only way to expel Gumbus is to build his greatest creation: the Liberty Stack,” he then pressed buttons on his phone, while the turtles and humans looked at one another. “You’ll need to access my video, subscribe and donate, and—“

“I’ve seen that 1,000 times for free!” Mikey called as he and the others rushed past him. “I can do it!” 

“Whoo-hoo!” April cheered. “Come on, guys!” 

Soon, they arrived at the ‘Canned Stuff’ aisle and found the Lady Liberty stack now clattered all over the ground. 

“There it is!” Mizuki beamed. 

A baguette zoomed past them and stuck itself on the pillar. 

They looked around and saw themselves in the Pizza and Pasta aisle. 

Various foods in the aisle started to float in the air on their own, facing the group. 

“Oh, no.”

“Oh, boy.”

Mizuki narrowed her eyes at the floating foods, removing her fans from her knapsacks. 

The pizzas and breadsticks started firing at the four. One of the pies landed on Leo’s face, while Mizuki slashed one before it could even hit her. 

“Mikey!” April turned to Mikey. 

“Cover me,” he said. 

He rolled on the ground to avoid being hit by the whizzing pizzas and breadsticks and started building. 

“Mikey, hurry!” Leo called. 

He, April and Mizuki blocked off the flying pizzas and baguettes with their arms. 

Noodles from the noodle dispenser flew at them and began to fight with them. 

“This is exactly what the real Michelangelo went through when he created stuff,” Mikey remarked, almost close to the top. “And we’re basically the same level of artist.”

“If you mean he went through tough events like this, I agree!” Mizuki shouted to him as she cut off an arm of spaghetti. 

Mikey pulled the flashlight from the vacuum pack, turning it on, and placed it on top of the Liberty Stack. “Ta-da.”

The noodle arms suddenly distended from Leo and April, who yelped and fell to the ground. 

April laughed as she was helped up by Mizuki. 

“We—we did it!” Leo realized with joy. 

“Whoo! Mikey, you appeased the Gumbus!” April looked at Mikey, who stared proudly at the Lady Liberty stack. 

“Hah. What can I say? I’m the best,” he crossed his arms, smirking in victory. 

The flashlight unexpectedly flickered and finally turned off. 

“Uh-oh,” Mizuki pouted fearfully. 

Leo’s eye twitched, while April smiled widely with the same fear as Mizuki. 

The lights above turned off on its own as well and the chains rattled behind them. The sound of cans rattling came from the other side of the aisle. 

“This is not good,” Mizuki remarked. 

“Uh...Mikey, use my flashlight!” Leo turned to his younger brother. 

He went to hand it to him, but when the light shone on something behind Mikey, he, April and Mizuki gasped with terror. 

A large ghost with pink chains around the shoulders floated behind the box turtle and the Liberty stack. 

Leo pointed at the ghost and stuttered nervously. Mikey slowly turned around and screamed the moment he saw the ghost that had been haunting the store ever since. 

“Gumbus!” The ghost’s booming voice echoed. 

The chains flew off to attack Mikey, who dodged them in time, screaming and rolling back towards the three. 

The Gumbus let out an otherworldly shriek at the four teens. 

Mikey, Leo, and Mizuki screamed with fear, while April let out a fangirl cry. 

They began to run across the store, with the blue ghost now trailing after them. 

“Flee!” The turtles both yelled when they turned around a corner. 

“Oh, I hate this, I hate this!” Leo shouted. 

April was the only one laughing without fear as she and Mizuki rushed behind the brothers and trying to avoid the Gumbus. 

“How are you not scared like us?!” Mizuki demanded before dodging one of the chains that were now catching them. 

“Just having a good time, girl!” April replied, laughing with excitement. 

The items on the shelves then flew and shot at the teens at the Gumbus’s command. 

“Where’s the exit?” Mikey cried. 

Mizuki yelped in surprise when she fell backward in a shopping cart and saw that April was steering it. Leo fell next to her before the three caught up with Mikey, who fell in as well and hugged Leo. 

“Wait, I’ve got you, Mikey!” April said. 

“How long is this freezer aisle?!” Leo shouted. 

“Gumbus!” The ghost roared and raised his arms. 

The aisle cabinets got up on their own at his command and made themselves close in the teens. 

“He’s gonna block us in!” Leo cried, hugging his brother close. 

“Whoo! Yes!” April cheered and ran faster. “Ramming speed!” 

Mikey hid in his shell and nearly flew off the cart, but Leo caught him in time. 

“April!” Mizuki shrieked and closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the hard impact. 

The teens crashed through the cabinets. April let go of the cart and skidded across the floor, grunting. The turtles and Mizuki flew off the cart and crashed into one another. 

Mikey popped out of his shell and hugged Leo close. 

“Are you out of your mind, O’Neil?!” Mizuki practically screeched at April. “What gave you the bright idea to ram us through those cabinets?!” 

“Look, guys, it’ll be fine,” April replied. “You know how these things go. As long as we stick together and don’t split up, we’ll be okay.”

The cabinet she was standing in front of turned around, and the Gumbus was now in April’s place instead of the brown-haired girl. The ghost roared at the two turtles and Mizuki. 

Mikey kept on screaming as Leo pulled him by the wrist and grabbed Mizuki by the hand. They both ran for their lives towards the meat aisle. 

“Since this is my first time being wrong, is it always this scary?” Leo asked, dodging the Gumbus’s attacks. 

“Yes!” Mikey shrieked fearfully. 

Mizuki nearly caught up with the brothers before she tripped and fell down to the ground. 

“Mizzy!” Leo reached out to her as he and Mikey hid behind the meat counter.

The Gumbus hovered over the blue-haired girl, ready to attack her. Mizuki scooted away from the creature, whimpering. 

The ghost roared loudly and raised his hand, about to strike her. She screamed, shielding herself with her arms and shutting her eyes. 

“Get thee back to the netherworld, fiend!” Mikey yelled and turned on the vacuum. 

The vacuum began to suck in the Gumbus. It roared with terror and attempted to flee away from the vacuum. 

Mizuki backed away towards the counter and watched as the Gumbus tried to get away. 

“It’s working, it’s working!” Mikey exclaimed. “And I don’t even know what it’s plugged in to.”

“Yes, get him! Get that chain-laden doofus!” Leo cheered. 

The ghost’s lower body got caught in the vacuum. 

The fabric was ripped away from the ghost, which is revealed to be a robot hanging over the floor. 

The turtles and Mizuki stared at it in stunned silence. 

“A robot?” Mikey raised a confused eyebrow. 

Leo slowly smiled and laughed triumphantly. “Aha, right? The simple answer. I was right! I was right! I was right!” 

“Oh, man,” Mikey sagged. “I was scared of something that doesn’t even exist.”

“Oh, thank God,” Mizuki sighed relieved and leaned her head back. “You saved me, Mikey. Thanks.”

“Anytime,” Mikey smiled at her, though he was deflated. 

The robot instantly came back to life and loudly roared at the teens again. 

“Real stuff is scary enough as it is,” Leo whimpered. 

He shoved Mikey and Mizuki out of the way before the Gumbus attacked them and rolled across the floor. 

“Defend yourself!” Leo shouted. 

He grabbed a roll of salami, while Mikey reached for the knife but instead grabbed a ham. 

The turtles shouted, standing in front of the terrified Mizuki. 

The robot sliced through the meat. 

“Oh, no,” the brothers said in unison. 

The robot cackled mechanically and was about to attack them again. A salami hit him on the back of the head, and he turned around to find whoever threw it at it. 

“Apri-i-l O’Neil!” April drawled. “Ooh, you’re gonna wish you were a ghost, Gumbus!” 

The Gumbus roared loudly, commanding the shelves and chains to float in the air, ready to strike. 

“Salami!” April shot another salami at the robot. 

The meat cut the robot off from the ceiling, prompting it to fall to the ground. 

An explosion forced the turtles and Mizuki to cover their eyes from the smoke. When they opened them, a figure they know too well was thrusted out of the robot in a seat and grunted in pain, landing in front of them. 

“What? You?” Mikey pointed his sliced meaty weapon at Stockboy. 

“Duh. He’s literally 100% of the people we know from this place,” Leo rolled his eyes. 

He saw the phone in front of him and picked it up. “What’s this? Ugh, you were recording the whole thing, weren’t you?” 

“I had to, because of cheapskates like you who watch my videos but never subscribe and donate!” Stockboy angrily pointed at the teens, who were giving him glares. 

“What? So you did all this for money?” April asked him in disbelief. 

“Look, this is my parents’ store,” Stockboy sighed. “They don’t even pay me to work here. But there’s big bucks in hoaxes.”

“Well, the only hoax I’m seeing here is you,” Mizuki glowered at him. “You’re a dishonest, heartless person who only cares about money.”

“And looks like you’re done, hoss,” Mikey spoke up next. “We’ll be taking the footage with us.”

“What?!” Stockboy yelled mad and sighed. “You’ll pay for this. You will rue the day you crossed young man genius Baxter Stockboy!” 

“Wait a minute,” April tried not to smirk. “Your name is Stockboy and you’re a stock boy?” 

The three teens laughed loudly and Mizuki stifled a giggle. 

“I’ll teach you to laugh at me!” Stockboy growled. 

He moved the joystick on his seat, and the cabinets got up from the ground as he laughed evilly. 

“Now you will feel the wrath of—“

“Baxter? Are you in there?” A woman’s voice that sounded angry came from the entrance of the store. 

Stockboy and the teens turned towards the sound. 

“You were supposed to be home an hour ago!” Baxter’s mother stood in the doorway with his father. 

The cabinets fell to the ground as Stockboy nervously glanced at his parents. The lights are now turned on, revealing the damage of the grocery place. 

“What happened to the store?” 

“Oh, no, guys. It’s my parents,” Stockboy turned towards the teens, only to find Leo chewing on the sliced salami and hanging from the vent. 

“Tell us if you got grounded in your next video, okay?” He winked at him before disappearing behind the others. 

“Be sure to subscribe and donate?” Baxter asked them before preparing himself for his parents’ lecture. 

As Mizuki followed behind the turtles and April, she can hear Baxter’s parents’ booming voices from the inside of the store. She smiled at the thought of the now busted boy earning a harsh punishment for the things he did for money. 

She knew it’s harsh, but at least it’s what he deserves.


	18. Mrs. Cuddles

The turtles, girls, and Splinter sat in the living room watching a commercial, the one that April has a job on. 

“Congrats on the acting job, April,” Raph glanced at April. “I’m so happy for you, I could punch a rainbow.”

“It’s just a tiny basic cable show,” April waved it off. 

“Not so tiny,” Splinter grumbled. “It knocked ‘Scorpion Treadmill’ out of its time slot.”

“Say, how’d you like to sit in the front row, Raph?” Leo asked Raph with a smug expression. 

“Okay!” Raph smiled. 

April giggled to herself as Raph went to sit with his brothers and Mizuki. 

The blue-haired girl noticed out of the corner of her eye Donnie and the others holding back their laughter. She raised a questioning eyebrow at them, and Donnie signaled her to wait. 

“Hi, kids!” April popped up on the TV screen wearing a bunny onesie. “It’s time for ‘The Laughy Fun-Time Hour with Mrs. Cuddles’!” 

As she said this, she stepped next to a stuffed bunny on a pedestal. The bunny had a yellow bow tie on her head, with red, yellow, orange and green ears, a dark blue body, and cutesy eyes. 

Raph tensed up and stared at the screen with fear growing in his eyes. “Hm?” 

“Let’s be friends forever!” The bunny said to the screen. 

“What?” Raph whimpered, shaking with fear. 

“Raph?” Mizuki studied him with worry. “Raph, are you alright?” 

He didn’t answer her as his eye twitched. He then screamed loudly and jumped over Splinter sitting in his chair. 

“No! Not Mrs. Cuddles!” Raph cried. 

The other turtles and April laughed at him. 

“It’s just as good as I thought it would be,” Donnie remarked. 

Mizuki titled her head perplexed until she realized something. 

Raph is scared of Mrs. Cuddles, and they’re using that as a prank against him! 

“What is wrong with you guys? Have you no respect?” She narrowed her eyes at them as she rubbed Raph’s shoulders. 

“Relax, Mizzy, we’re just joking,” Leo reassured. 

“Yes, but if you keep this up, it will bite back at you,” she lectured him.

“Yeah, you guys know I can’t watch this,” Raph stared them down, trying to sound brave. 

“Is my acting that bad?” April asked, her hands on her hips. 

“No, no, no. It ain’t you, April, it—“ Raph started. 

“Let’s be friends forever!” Mrs. Cuddles appeared on the screen again. 

Raph yelled and accidentally ran into the wall before landing on the ground hard. 

Mizuki gasped and covered her mouth with both her hands. 

“Raph’s fear-flops make me laugh every time,” Splinter laughed, upside down on his chair. “Oh, red one.”

The light violet-eyed girl glared at the rat mutant and the others. 

Raph got up from the ground and growled, standing over them. “What? You think I’m afraid of Mrs. Cuddles? Uh, I’m just upset about something else, which I’ll think of what that is later.”

“Be nice, guys,” April smirked. “You know, I bet a sandwich would make you feel better, Raph.” 

Mrs. Cuddles jumped in front of the camera again and giggled. 

Raph yelled and ran towards the kitchen. The others laughed again, apart from Mizuki, who is glaring them down. 

“You guys are complete jerks,” she gestured to them as she started after him. “Every one of you.”

She soon found Raph collecting food items he needed to make himself something. She walked over to him without the snapping turtle looking at her. 

“Wish I had sandwiches for brothers,” he mumbled to himself and grabbed a pack of bread. “Be better than those jerks.”

“Raph?” She lightly tapped him on the shoulders. 

He yelped and turned around in a flash, only to calm down when he saw the young girl with a worried and sympathetic look. 

“Oh, hey, Miz,” he sighed relieved. “I-I-I-I was, uh, just rambling to myself…”

“I’m terribly sorry you have to go through it and have to deal with them,” Mizuki sat up on the counter. “I know how it feels to be scared since I met you guys.”

“Okay, well, sure, I’m a little jumpy, all right?” He told her as he made his sandwich. “But afraid? Raph don’t do afraid.”

He opened the top drawer, only for the stuffed bunny to pop out from it. 

Raph screamed petrified and backed away. “It’s in the lair!” 

He accidentally backed away towards the pot counter and bumped into it hard. Pots and spoons hit him numerous times and he grunted repeatedly. 

Mizuki gasped horrified and pulled the pots off his head. “Are you alright?” 

“Yeah,” Raph rubbed his head to soothe the pain. 

The brothers and April laughed as they swooped in next to Raph and Mizuki. 

“Oh, I’m enjoying this,” Donnie chuckled. 

“The guys tell me Mrs. Cuddles totally freaks you out, so I brought her over in a trunk for a sweet prank,” April gestured to a pink trunk while giggling. 

Mizuki gritted her teeth at the brothers and April. Not only did they convince her to join them on the prank, but she was also enjoying doing it to Raph. 

“I should have known you would do something like this,” Mizuki scolded the others. “You nearly gave poor Raphael a heart attack, for heaven’s sake!” 

“Calm down, Miz. We didn’t ‘entirely’ scare him,” Donnie smiled at her, then turned to Raph. “And, hey, no hard feelings, okay, big brother?” 

“‘Let’s be fwiends fowever!’” He chuckled as he held the stuffed rabbit. 

“Good one, making my heart almost explode,” Raph nervously, then sobbed. “And for the record, these are tears of laughter. I’m laughing at you.”

As the others walked away, Mizuki gave them death glares without them looking before she walked over to Raph, who is wiping away his tears. 

She knew that look well when she can see it herself. They were filled with utter fear. 

Her heart broke to see Raph like this. 

“I cannot believe they would do this to you, Raph,” she placed her hand on his arm. “They probably didn’t know how to give respect. And plus, Mrs. Cuddles is just merely a stuffed doll. She cannot harm you in any way whatsoever.”

“Really? You think so?” He looked at her with hopeful eyes. 

“Of course,” she nodded her head. “It may take a while to practice, but you’ll have to be brave in the future.”

She reached up to his level and kissed him on the cheek. “And have no fear. Mrs. Cuddles is not frightening.”

Mizuki smiled at him before she strolled out of the kitchen. 

*****

She sat on the couch in the living area, her fingers tracing around the letter ‘M’ on her golden locket. Her eyes studied the letter, which repeatedly lingered on her mind for as long as she could count. 

She then eyed the photo, the one Big Mama had given to her, of her parents. The one that arachnid yokai had used against her to get closer to her. 

Although she wanted to throw it away to get rid of the bad memory of Big Mama, she really needed it to remember what her parents looked like. 

Her mother dressed in the pink gown, her long curls put up an elegant bun. Her hands carried a small bouquet of roses as her dancing eyes stared at her. 

They were as if calling her to find them soon…

Raph’s screams echoed from outside the living room. Mizuki gasped and looked up towards the sounds. 

“Raph,” she whispered. 

She jumped off the couch and followed his screams to where she had heard it. 

Donnie’s room. 

“Donnie, you have better not be scaring Raph again,” she mumbled as she arrived at his quarters. 

She skidded to a stop and found Raph on the floor with a titanium Donnie’s head and Mrs. Cuddles getting up. 

And getting bigger?

“Raph?” Mizuki asked uncertainly. 

“Mizzy! Stay there!” Raph commanded desperately. 

He jumped on the stuffed rabbit and carried her by the ears. He passed Mizuki, who started following after him. 

“Raph, please tell me what’s going on?” She demanded fearfully. 

“Mrs. Cuddles gets bigger and bigger every time someone screams,” he quickly explained to her. “She’s really alive, I swear.”

“Alright, Raph,” Mizuki tried to calm him down while trying not to panic as well. “I’m starting to believe you now.”

They entered the arcade where Leo and Mikey are playing hockey and threw Mrs. Cuddles in the locker, closing the door. 

“Now to lock you up till I figure out how to shrink you and get you back in your trunk,” Raph pondered aloud and started putting things in front of the locker. 

“Whoa, we really broke this poor guy,” Leo stated and looked at Mikey. “Wanna skateboard?” 

Mizuki gave a death glare at the two as they left for the skating area. 

“I’ll go get more stuff to barricade the door,” she said and rushed out of the area. 

She gathered as more items as her arms can carry and headed back to the arcade with Raph, who have more items on him with the barricade. 

“It’s gonna be okay, Raphy,” he was saying to himself. “There’s no way that bunny can—“

He yelped when he saw the barricade moved and the stuffed bunny gone. 

“Splinter,” she realized and groaned, dropping the items. 

“I’ll go check the living room,” Raph suggested. 

“Kitchen,” she stated. 

They both ran off in different directions. 

*****

Mizuki searched through the cabinets, drawers, pantries, basically anywhere she can think of. 

But no sign of Mrs. Cuddles. 

“Come on, where could that darn bunny be?” She muttered desperately. 

Mikey and Leo’s loud screams caught her ears from afar. She sprinted towards the skating area as fast as her legs can carry her. 

The moment she got to the skating area, there was no one there. 

Mizuki walked into the skating area and scanned the corners and walls for any sign of Leo and Mikey. 

“I hope they got away safely,” she said to herself. 

Giggling caused her to tense up. She turned around slowly and managed to hold back the urge to scream, though her eyes were growing big with fear. 

Mrs. Cuddles towered over her with a smile she recognized as psychotic. 

“Oh...my...God!” Mizuki whimpered. 

“Hey there, Mizuki!” Mrs. Cuddles smirked evilly and stalked slowly towards her. “You look like you could use some fun time! Let’s play tag! I’m it!” 

Mrs. Cuddles raised her hand and threw it down. Mizuki jumped out of the way in time and landed on the skating ramp. 

“Raph! Where are you?!” She cried. 

Mrs. Cuddles repeatedly destroyed the ground while trying to hit the blue-haired maiden. “All I want from you is a big, loud scream!” 

Mizuki yelped and avoided another attempted attack from Mrs. Cuddles. She scooted away from the ginormous stuffed bunny, the control to scream about to take over her. 

Mrs. Cuddles raised her hand again, ready to smash her fully. Mizuki whimpered her eyes wide with terror. 

“Hey, Cuddles!” Raph called from the other side of the room. 

Mrs. Cuddles stopped before she even make a move and spun around to find Raph standing in the middle of the skating ramp. 

“Raph, no! Get out of here!” Mizuki shouted fearfully. 

“Look, sure, you scared me at first, but now?” Raph ignored Mizuki’s warning and narrowed his eyes at Mrs. Cuddles. “Now I see you’re nothing but an average, everyday ginormous bully. And Raph ain’t afraid of bullies! Especially when they started picking on my friends!”

“We’ll see about that,” Mrs. Cuddles chuckled darkly. 

She tried to hit Raph, but he jumped away from the hit and smirked. 

“Uh-oh,” he said. 

Mrs. Cuddles hit him with her behind and Raph crashed against the ramp. Mrs. Cuddles landed on the top of the ramp and grabbed a pipe from the wall with her ear. 

Laughing evilly, she sprayed water at Raph, who tried to fight against the currents. 

He was unable to fight back, for he lost his balance and flew up into the air on the skating ramps and landed on a basketball hoop, getting tangled up in the process. 

“Raph!” Mizuki yelled. 

Splinter laughed as he stood near the snapping turtle tangled up in the basketball hoop. 

“Look at you, Red!” He held on to his side and pointed at him. 

“No! No giggles. I hate giggles,” Mrs. Cuddles glowered. “Stop giggling!” 

She fired more water at Splinter, who jumped out of the way and landed on the basketball hoop Raph was trapped in.   
“No one roughs up my family or interrupts my TV regimen,” he warned the stuffed animal. “You made a powerful enemy, rabbit.”

Mrs. Cuddles jumped up at him, and the two started fighting. 

Mizuki snuck up to Raph and began to cut him loose. The red-masked turtle suddenly gasped when he saw Splinter kicking Mrs. Cuddles towards where Mizuki is trying to cut him free. 

“Mizzy, watch out!” He shouted. 

Mizuki yelped and dodged out of the way in time before Raph was instantly pulled out of the basketball hoop with Mrs. Cuddles and landed on the ground. 

He spit out some cotton from her tail. 

“Why?” He whined and cleaned his tongue out. 

“Ooh, someone has a case of cottonmouth,” Splinter joked, appearing behind Raph on his shell, and laughed. 

Mizuki covered her mouth, stifling her laughter from the joke. 

Mrs. Cuddles began to grow smaller and groaned, grabbing her head, as Splinter laughed. 

“Wait. She’s getting smaller,” Raph realized.   
“Stop! You’re just like those kids on my show,” Mrs. Cuddles growled. “Their giggles steal my power.”

Raph turned to Mizuki and smirked. 

“Sorry about this, Mizzy,” he apologized to her. 

“What for—“ Mizuki started. 

Raph pulled her on his lap all of a sudden and started tickling on her sides. She laughed instantly and struggled to fight her way out of the snapping turtle’s grip. 

The more she laughed, the more Mrs. Cuddles shrunk as she tried to punch them. 

“Raph, stohohohohohohop!” She laughed and lightly hit him on his shell. 

Soon, Mrs. Cuddles was back to her normal size and whining from fear. 

“Okay, okay! Raph, she’s done for! Stop! Stohohohohop!” Mizuki laughed. 

Raph understood and let go of her. She panted heavily and held onto her sides, even though she was still giggling. 

“Oh, just don’t put me back in my trunk and send me back to the kids!” Mrs. Cuddles fearfully pleaded. 

“Hey, that’s a great idea,” Raph chuckled, with Splinter on his shell. “So great, I wanna scream about how great it is.”

Splinter hit him in the back of his head. 

“But I won’t,” Raph finished before he picked up Mrs. Cuddles. 

He threw her in the trunk and locked it. “So long, pal! Let’s be friends for never.”

He, Splinter and Mizuki laughed at his joke. 

“Good one,” Splinter commented. 

“‘For never’.”

“Guys?” Leo called. 

“Anybody there?” 

“Can somebody untie us?” 

“I’m afraid of togetherness.”

“We will get right to that,” Splinter chuckled. “Eventually.”

“I think they owe you an apology,” Mizuki smiled up to Raph. 

*****

Raph, Splinter, and Mizuki soon found the others tied up in Splinter’s room and freed them. 

But not before Mizuki demanded an apology from the other turtles and April to Raph. 

“Well, do you guys have anything to say to Raph?” Mizuki folded her arms at them, tapping her foot like an angry parent. 

She was standing next to Raph, who smirked at them with his arms folded as well. 

“Sorry, Raph,” they all mumbled. 

Mizuki raised an eyebrow at them, unconvinced. 

“All right, all right! We’re sorry!” The turtles said again, meaning it this time. 

“We know we took the joke too far! We got it!” April raised her hands up defensively. 

Mizuki stared at them intensely before she knew that they mean the apology well. “Better. Now, who’s up for a good, three hours of training?”

The other turtles groaned at Mizuki’s punishment, 

“Of course, Raph can stand by and watch, and work out for a moment with you all, since he’s gone through a lot because of your prank,” Mizuki smirked. 

Raph chuckled and she smiled up at him.


	19. Stuck on You

Her phone beeped in Mizuki’s pocket as she entered the lair. She picked it up and saw a new message from her friend. 

“Hanging out with the turtles again?” Her friend messaged. 

“Just arrived here,” Mizuki messaged back. “And how did you know about what I am doing?”

“Let’s just say it’s my best friend instincts,” the messenger texted back. 

She rolled her eye playfully at the reply. 

Loud footsteps rippled across the lair. Mizuki had to stand against the wall to support herself. 

“What in the world?” She mumbled and texted her friend. “I’m gonna have to go.”

“My inventions were meant to do good, not evil!” Donnie cried from his lab. 

Mizuki’s heart dropped. She rushed over to where his lab is. 

“What have you done to my body, my perfect body?” Leo complained. 

“Donnie? Raph? Guys?” Mizuki called as she stepped into the lab. “Everything okay in there?”

A large, round figure stepped out of the darkness, footsteps booming from a few good inches. Her eyes went big as the figure got closer to where she is standing. 

A foot that she knew belongs to Mikey stepped out from the shadows followed by Donnie’s foot. 

Mizuki finally got the full view of the round figure towering over her. 

The turtles now glued together in a ball, their heads sticking out. They fell to the ground in front of Mizuki, who yelped at the sight of them. 

“Oh, my God! What happened?!” She questioned them in shock. 

“Long story, Miz,” Donnie answered her. 

“Why did you do this, Raph?” Mikey glared at Raph. 

“You know, even for you, this feels like a poorly thought-through idea,” Donnie scowled at the bigger turtle. 

“Oh, is this what it feels like to have a dad bod?” Leo whined as he saw himself and the others in a mirror. 

“Calm down,” Raph reassured them as they stood up. “This is gonna be awesome. Being stuck together is gonna force us to work together as a team.”

He punched Leo’s arm and they all nearly lost their balance from the hit. 

“This is a team-building exercise?” Leo raised an eyebrow at Raph. 

“How are we gonna get unglued?” Donnie asked angrily. 

“Relax, I’m sure you have a formula to get us unstuck, Donnie,” Raph turned to the purple-masked turtle. 

“Actually, I do not have a formula,” Donnie argued back. “My FAB spray is still in beta.”

“FAB spray? What in the world is that?” Mizuki tilted her head perplexed. 

“F-A-B, foam agent bonding,” Donnie explained to her. “It’s state of the art. It could change the entire...”

“Not this again,” Leo groaned. 

“You see, Raph, usually when Donnie’s in speech mode,” he turned to Raph. “I could just run away, but now...”

He laughed nervously. “I’m stuck.”

An alarm rang from Donnie’s computer, prompting Donnie to cease talking and the others to turn towards the computer. “Donnie detection, a crime is in progress.”

“Yes, a mission,” Raph pumped his fist in the air. “It’s go time.”

The turtles tried to get to the computer, but they were stuck on the floor since they were glued together. 

“Maybe I should get this for you,” Mizuki gestured to the laptop and started for it. 

“No!” Raph stopped her, waving his hand. “We need to work together as a team to get to Donnie’s computer. We got this, Miz. Mikey, step.”

Mikey did as Raph told him and stepped up. 

“Donnie, step.”

Donnie did the same and got up, grunting. 

“There we go, teamwork.”

With Mikey and Donnie stepping backward in the ball, the turtles reached the computer, Mizuki stepping out of the way. 

Raph and Leo faced the computer, with Donnie and Mikey facing the back. 

A message with ‘Enter Password’ appeared on the screen. Donnie gasped in horror and turned away, a bead of sweat dripping down his head. 

“Donnie, what’s your password?” Raph looked at him, smirking. 

“I am not telling you that,” Donnie protested. “Just let me enter it.”

“How? You don’t have any hands,” Leo said. 

“Try ‘I love my family’,” Mikey thought. 

Raph and Leo both entered the password Mikey had suggested. The words ‘Incorrect Password’ popped up. 

“Try ‘I love my brothers’,” Mikey said next. 

They entered it as well, only for the same words to appear again. 

Meanwhile, Donnie sweated behind them as they attempted to find the code needed to get into his computer. 

“What about ‘I love Mizzy’?” Leo thought up. 

Mizuki and Donnie both blushed from the guessed password, both turning away to avoid glancing at one another. 

“Stop!” Donnie yelled, then sighed in defeat. “It’s not that. It’s—it’s ‘Bootyyyshaker9000’, capital B and three Ys in ‘booty’.”

The turtles snickered, as Mizuki snorted and turned away. 

“What? You know I love to dance,” Donnie glared at them. “Not going to apologize for that.”

Raph and Leo put in the correct password, and the screen leads them to an image of an art museum. 

“Someone is breaking into the Museum of Art and Framing,” Raph exclaimed. 

“Ooh, art thieves,” Mikey gasped in amazement. 

“Classy,” Leo remarked. 

“I bet there’s a priceless artifact they’re after,” Mizuki clenched her fist. 

“Let’s move!” Raph said. 

The moment they all tried to move at once, they fell to the floor, yelling. Mizuki attempted to hold back her laughter at the brothers. 

“To the Turtle Tank!” Raph pointed up in the air dramatically as Donnie and Mikey stood up. 

Soon, they got to the Turtle Tank in the sewer garage, but when they tried to get in, they couldn’t fit through the door. 

Mizuki stood outside, leaning against the wheel of the large vehicle. 

“Everybody suck in,” Raph suggested. 

The turtles inhaled a deep breath, but they still couldn’t get in, due to being glued together in the ball. They fell to the floor as the door to the Turtle Tank closed. 

“And this is exactly what happens when you don’t exercise much,” Mizuki joked, stifling a giggle. 

Leo glared at her from her joke. 

“Hmm, let’s use the shell hogs,” Donnie lit up. 

“Yes!” The three brothers and Mizuki cheered but stared at Donnie perplexed. “What’s a shell hog?” 

Donnie sighed annoyed. “Did none of you read the tank’s instruction manual I gave you?” 

As he looked at them, they glanced away nervously. Mizuki could tell that they must have done something with their instruction manuals. 

“It’s on my to-do list,” Raph lied. 

“Mizzy, can you push that button on the side, please?” Donnie asked Mizuki. 

“Okay,” she nodded and pressed the button where he had told her. 

She was lucky she stepped out of the way, for the wheels of the Turtle Tanks separated and transformed into motorcycles. 

“Awesome!” The three turtles exclaimed. 

“Amazing!” Mizuki gasped in wonder. 

Donnie smirked victoriously as they gaped at his work. 

But as they got up, their smiles fell. 

“Why are there only two?” Raph asked. 

“I’m afraid I’ve not gotten around to making the rest,” Donnie rolled his eyes. “Maybe they’ll come out during the holiday season, so you know they’re special.”

“Donnie, these are amazing,” Leo said as he touched the front of the motorbike. “And I know everything I say sounds sarcastic, but I’m being completely genuine—this time.”

Donnie smiled softly at Leo. 

“Let’s ride,” Raph smirked. 

They got on one of the motorbikes, and Donnie revved the vehicle with his foot. With the brothers and Mizuki now on the motorbike, it started up before it fell over with them still on it. The blue-haired girl had jumped off in time just before it fell. 

She tapped her chin before her eyes lit up at an idea. 

She now rode on one of the two motorbikes with the turtles in front of her, Leo and Raph driving them. 

“If we make this work and stop these art thieves, we’ll be the perfect team!” Raph declared as they raced for the art museum. 

With help from Mizuki, they stopped in front of the museum and walked as fast as they can, with her running far ahead of them. 

The turtles leaped through the door with Leo’s foot and crashed onto the floor. Mizuki scanned the area of the museum for any signs of the art thieves. 

Some sculptures, head busts, full bodies, were broken on the ground. 

“Wow, someone never bothered to clean up after themselves,” she remarked. 

“Everyone keep your eyes open,” Raph instructed as they stood up. “Let me know if you see anything suspicious.”

The brothers roll across the floor, and Mizuki shook her head, rolling her eyes. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something whiz past her. 

“I think I see something!” She gasped. 

The turtles stopped rolling and look at where she saw the object. 

“I saw something move, too!” Mikey and Leo both said in unison when they saw two more objects zoom by. 

“Over on the left.”

“Over on the right.”

“No, this way.” Leo and Mikey both pointed in different directions. 

“Great plan, Raph,’” Donnie sarcastically said to the bigger turtle. “Now instead of being able to investigate two leads, we are stuck together.”

“Shh, no, this is what teamwork is,” Raph told them as he read from the words he had written on his hand. “We put aside our individual goals to do what’s best for the team.”

“Why do you sound like you’re reading?” Donnie questioned him suspiciously. 

“Let’s follow Mikey’s lead first,” Raph gestured to where Mikey said he saw something. 

The other three turtles all groan. Raph used his arm to drag them all across the floor. 

Mizuki sighed, blowing a tuft of hair out of her eyes, and followed behind them. 

They walk into the main hall with the head busts that weren’t broken. The turtles back away while Mizuki watched her step and studied the area for the art thieves. 

“Careful, don’t break anything,” Raph warned. 

Donnie’s foot slip on the floor, and they nearly topple over. They backed away in a flash and hit a pedestal with one of the head busts. 

Mizuki gasped and caught the head bust in time before it could hit the floor. She sighed in relief, as well as the brothers, who all let out a comforting breath. 

She placed the head back on the pedestal slowly and made sure it stays there. She nodded her head, letting them know they’re good to go. 

When they turn around, however, they accidentally hit the pedestal again, which toppled over this time and hit the other ones, breaking on the floor. 

“Oh!” The turtles groaned in panic. 

Mizuki gasped loudly and covered her mouth, wincing as each and every one of the statues fall to the ground and breaking on contact. 

The last one, which was hit by the other pedestal, slowly turned to the side before it completely fell down. The last statue hit the ground with a crackle. 

Mizuki gaped at the now broken statues wide-eyed, her hands still over her lips. 

Babbling of the familiar creatures forced her and the brothers turn around to the source. 

Various silverfish mutants chewed on foods while a few others jumped around on the empty pedestal. 

“Mutant silverfish? They’re into art?” Leo raised an eyebrow. 

“This should be easy,” Raph smirked. “Turtle FAB, attack!” 

Purple smoke appeared from one side of them on the upper level. 

“Flawless entry. Now to—” Hypno-Potamus stopped short when he saw the turtles glued together. “Oh, what happened to you lot? Did some creepy doctor man chop you into tiny bits and then sew you back together?”

“What? No, it’s team-building,” Raph denied. 

“Oh, yes, team-building,” Hypno-Potamus understood. “My former assistant Doug and I used to love team-build.”

“I’m giving you one chance yo get out of here before we—“ Raph started, narrowing his eyes at the mutant magician. 

A purple portal opened up behind them. Two figures that they know too well stepped out and scanned the area. 

“Foot face guys?” Mikey yelled. 

“It’s those flame face foot foes, fellas,” Donnie said nervously. 

“What happened to you guys?” The Foot Brute gasped in shock, as the Foot Lieutenant became frightened at the turtles’ appearance. “Did a doctor cut you up and—“

“Is there a creepy doctor running around that we don’t know about?” Raph interrupted him. 

“Looks like you’ve got to choose between me or them,” Hypno-Potamus laughed evilly. “A classic Wellington’s choice.”

He then ran into the room with occult devices. 

“He’s getting away into that exhibit on the occult!” Donnie exclaimed. “Quick, follow him!” 

“Hurry! Let’s get the device while these idiots are stuck together!” The Foot Lieutenant gestured towards another room before he and the Foot Brute started for it. 

“It’s team-building!” Raph corrected agitated. 

“Why are we stuck together when there are literally three villains?” Mikey asked annoyed. 

“Make that four!” Warren Stone stood on the railing far behind them and Mizuki. “Warren Stone, the biggest, baddest of them all is here to get in on the—“

“Hey, guy?” Leo intercepted. “Can you give us a minute? We’ve got a lot on our plate here.”

“We need to go after the flame heads,” Mikey argued. 

“No, Hypno,” Donnie suggested. 

“No, stop me!” Stone jumped up trying to catch their attention, apart from Mizuki. 

“Flame heads!” Mikey tried to go where the Foot members ran to. 

“Hypno!” Donnie leaned to the side where Hypno is in. 

“Flame heads.”

“Hypno!” 

As Mikey and Donnie argued about which villain to go after, Mizuki slapped herself in the forehead in exasperation. 

This is not working well. Those villains need to be stopped soon. 

“I’ll go stop those Foot Clan guys from taking anything!” Mizuki pulled out her fans and chased after the Foot Clan members. “You guys stay here and don’t break apart!” 

“Thanks for the advice, Mizzy!” Leo yelled to her sarcastically. 

Mizuki bit the inside of her mouth to keep a laugh from bursting out of her as she ran inside the room where the Foot men headed into. 

Whatever they’re in there for, she cannot let them get to it. 

She found them pulling out some sort of chest from the crypt. They hadn’t noticed her rushing towards them at the moment. 

“Hey, flameheads!” She called to them. 

They spun around to find her running towards them, her weapons ready for the fight. 

The Foot Lieutenant smirked evilly and rushed at her. 

He extended his foot out in order to hit her, but she skidded underneath him and propped herself back up before hitting him from behind. 

He landed on the wall and fell down to the earth. 

The Foot Brute growled and charged at her. 

Mizuki jumped up in the air, doing a backflip, before slamming in his head and kicking him off the ground. 

The bigger Foot member landed on the ground on his head and groaned. 

The Foot Lieutenant growled and threw two paper origami in her direction. The origami soldiers appeared and sprinted to her, letting out their battle cry. 

Mizuki threw her fans straight to them, who disappeared from the impacts. The fans flew swiftly back into her palms, and she smirked victoriously. 

“Impressive,” the Foot Lieutenant remarked, smirking. “But not good enough.”

He then tossed an origami rope in her direction. The rope transformed into real life and wrapped itself around her. 

“Hey! What the—“ Mizuki gasped until her mouth was instantly gagged by the smaller version of the rope. 

She fell down to the ground, her feet now held hostage by the rope. She then struggled to free herself, her cries muffled behind the gag. 

“Looks like you’re tangled up with this at the moment,” the Foot Brute grinned sinisterly. “We’ll deal with you after we get what we’re after.”

He lifted her up by the waist and placed her on top of the mummy caskets. She growled at them and struggled more to get the ropes off of her. 

The Foot Brute opened the chest to find a bronze glove inside the chest. 

The Foot members shed tears of joy at the sight, while Mizuki ceased fighting to stare at the glove with fear and confusion. 

She then realized it looked like the same one they were after back at the department store. 

The buff man picked up the gauntlet and placed it on his hand, laughing like an evil villain that they are. 

“Now that we’ve found what we came for…” The Foot Lieutenant turned his attention towards the female warrior and smirked darkly. 

Mizuki’s eyes went big with terror. 

The turtles suddenly rolled into the room and glared at the Foot Clan men. 

“One set of bad guys left,” Raph gestured at them. 

“And a young damsel to save,” Donnie commented the moment he saw Mizuki tied up and sitting on top of the mummy casket. 

“Will this nightmare never end?” Leo whined. 

Mizuki cried out a warning to them. 

“This is really gonna hurt ya,” the Foot Brute said and aimed the gauntlet at the turtles. 

“That’s not good,” Raph whimpered. 

A golden lightning bolt shot out from the hand and fired at the brothers. They crashed against the wall from the impact. 

The glue broke from the impact on the wall and the turtles freely jumped out from the ball. 

Mizuki cried fearfully towards Donnie and the others, her screams still muffled behind the gag. 

“Yes! We’re free!” Leo cheered. 

“That’s not good,” the Foot Brute cringed. 

“I missed you guys,” Mikey hugged himself. 

“Oh, no one needs to be close to their family,” Donnie exclaimed, then glanced at Raph, who mounted over the broken pieces of the ball. “No offense.”

“You moron, blast them again,” the Lieutenant ordered. 

The Foot Brute growled and fired lightning bolts at the brothers again. 

The turtles instantly ran across the room, avoiding the electric shots and hiding behind various artifacts. 

Raph stayed where he is and silently cried over the broken pieces. 

“Oh, no,” Leo said. 

“Raph, what are you doing?!” Mikey shouted to him. 

Raph got hit from one of the lightning bolts and was flung against the wall. He dropped down to the ground, the broken pieces burying him in the process. 

Mizuki’s screams were still muffled behind the roped gag. 

The other turtles jumped over to where Raph was laying and hid behind one of the displays as the Foot Brute kept firing at them. 

Mizuki frantically searched over the chaos, quietly pleading to God, to the heavens above, to let Donnie and his brothers be alright. 

To let them work as a team the best way they’ve got…

The Foot Lieutenant noticed her worried gazes and stared at where the turtles are hiding. He then smirked evilly when he realized something. 

Mizuki glanced at him with terrified eyes. She can’t let him know that she cares about the brothers, about Donnie. 

But he already saw it in her eyes. 

“Perfect way to use leverage,” he said. 

The turtles jumped over the display they were hiding behind and whooped excitedly. Only this time, they’re put back together and had Stone as a rope to hold them. 

The Foot Brute never got a chance to fire at them again before they started punching him. The last punch they had thrown at him sent him landing on the ground. 

“Cowabunga!” The turtles all yelled. 

He didn’t have time to get away, for the brothers knocked him down against the wall and flew back towards the floor. 

The Foot Lieutenant growled but remembered he still had one last chance left. 

He grabbed the tied up Mizuki, pulling out a small blade from behind him and holding it under her chin. 

“Another step closer, and your precious friend gets the slice,” he threatened, glaring at the brothers, but mostly he was glaring at Donnie. 

Donnie’s eyes went big with terror as he saw the Foot Lieutenant holding Mizuki hostage. 

Even if they did do something, she would still be hurt. They just need a plan...

It was then he noticed her winking at him and rolling her eyes repeatedly. He realized that she was telling him something, a plan. 

He looked at Raph, Leo and Mikey, who had the same idea as him and smirked at him back. 

“Let’s shred, boys,” Raph said. 

They started rolling, with Stone screaming, towards the leaner Foot man. 

Mizuki used her heel to step on the Foot Lieutenant’s foot, prompting him to let go of her and cry out in pain. She hopped away from him in time before the turtles came rolling at him. 

He became shocked and tried to run away through the crypt, but they caught up with him and squished him down. 

They soon hit the wall of the crypt, sending the Foot Lieutenant flying towards his partner, who was opening up the portal. 

“Stop that! Move out of the way!” He screamed. 

They collide with one another and flew across the portal, dropping the gauntlet in the process. The portal closed as the Foot Clan men disappeared. 

The ball pieces break apart once more, but this time, Raph celebrated with his brothers for the victory. 

“FAB mode is awesome!” Mikey raised his arms in the air. 

Donnie suddenly remembered about Mizuki and ran around the crypt to find her sitting upright on the ground. Her cheers were muffled behind the gag when she saw Donnie and the others. 

“Mizzy!” He cried in relief. 

He rushed over to her and cut her loose from the ropes before helping her up. She gasped for air again after being gagged up for a while. 

“Donnie, you did it!” She told him, smiling. 

She grabbed him by the cheeks and kissed him on the side of the face. He blushed instantly and stared off into space from the unexpected action. 

Mikey and Raph awed at the two, while Leo gagged playfully at his brother. 

Mizuki soon realized what she did and her cheeks turned tomato red, turning away from Donnie. 

However, they were both smiling without the others noticing. 

“Now we are...the perfect team,” Raph smiled after reading from his hand.

“Yes!” They all cheered and high-three-ing each other. 

“Go, team theam!” Donnie said, stretching out his arms as they all walked out of the room. 

He and Mizuki glanced at one another again before they turned away, blushing and smiling lovingly at the ground.


	20. Al Be Back

In Central Park, the people that are there were amazed, some of them crying tears of joys, as they listened to someone singing opera music. 

Down below, Splinter was the one singing the opera sounds, which he is surprisingly good at. 

The turtles dressed up in their music disguises watch him surprised, yet uninterested. 

“No,” Raph said. 

“Oh, not—not good,” Donnie agreed. 

Leo facepalmed himself unimpressed. 

“That belongs in a sewer,” Mikey remarked. 

Splinter stopped singing and fell onto his knees. “Oh, please, my sons, let me be in your band.”

“No, thanks. We can’t groove to, uh, this whole situation, big daddy,” Raph said in a deep voice and eyed Splinter with his hands as a frame. 

The bigger turtle was dressed up in a brown-red suit with white frills on the end of the sleeves and has a black wavy wig and represents the Soul part of the singing group. 

“Uh, you hit your head? Why you talking like that?” Splinter questioned him. 

“If you want to be soul, you gotta live soul,” Raph only replied to him. 

“But if we need an overbearing manager who robs us blind, we’ll give you a call, mm-kay?” Leo smirked down at Splinter on top of one of the bigger stereos. 

The blue-masked turtle also had a wig like Raph, only it is white and messy. He was wearing a blue suit with light azure streaks on the sleeves, blue tie, pant legs, and shoulder pads, representing the Rock part of the group. 

“Ok, fine,” Splinter rolled his eyes defeated and walked away. “I’ll just start another family and join their band.”

“All right, babies,” Raph smiled. “Let’s boogie down. Our adoring public awaits. Albeartoland ain’t gonna grand open itself.”

“How did we get this sweet gig, again?” Leo asked as he held his blue guitar over his shoulders. 

“Well, I may or may not have intercepted a little email addressed to a certain Justin B at yeah, comma that one dot com,” Donnie smirked. 

He was not wearing his goggles this time, but a purple helmet with a suit, light streaks, and tie of the same color, representing the electro part. 

“Hey, I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but our music is so new it’s like it’s from outer space,” Leo added excitedly. 

“Yeah, our electro/soul/rap/glam rock is too good to quantify,” Donnie typed on his arm device. 

“Once we leave this lair, our music is gonna change everything,” Mikey said. 

He has orange glasses over his eyes and an orange hat with a jumpsuit of the same color, as he is representing the rap part. 

“Let’s harmonize for good luck,” Raph suggested. 

They all harmonized one by one in their own sounds of the parts they’re representing. 

“Nailed it,” they all said in unison. 

“Albeartoland, prepared to be blown away,” Raph declared. 

“Hold on, guys,” Leo held up his hand. “We can’t just leave without our special singer first.”

“Special who now?” Mikey tilted his head. 

“Hey, Miz! Where are you, girl? We’re about to head out,” Leo called out to her. 

“Alright, be patient. I’m almost ready,” Mizuki called back from the other side. 

The turtles turned to look at her as she stepped out of the darkness. 

She was fixing her hair up in a bun by sticking two chopsticks in her blue locks as she strolled towards them. She was dressed up in a no-sleeve red dress with a yellow flower pattern on the right side of her chest, dark red high heels, and her golden locket. 

“Ohmigosh! You look dazzling!” Mikey squealed with stars in his eyes. 

“That’s a good look for the singer of Jazz,” Leo remarked, smiling. 

Donnie’s face turned rosy red as he gaped at her lovingly. Raph noticed him blushing and nudged him by the elbow, smirking at him. 

“All right, let’s go. We’ve got a performance waiting,” Raph said. 

*****

The theme park in Albeartoland was something they had been expecting when Donnie got the email. 

Rides and games of the famous bear mascot were being visited everywhere. Various kids screamed with excitement as they ran across the docks. A stage, like the one back in the pizzeria, stood in the far back of the theme park. 

Backstage, the turtles and Mizuki prepared for their big part of the night. Raph lifted up a speaker while Mikey fixed up the drum set. 

Leo looked outside through the curtains and cringed at the sights of the numerous Albearto mascots. 

“Okay, look, I’m excited for the gig,” he closed the curtain and looked at Donnie, who is busy tuning the sounds. “But this place is crawling with Albeartos.”

“So?” Donnie shrugged without looking at him. 

“Last time we met one, things didn’t go so well, remember?” Leo raised an eyebrow at him. 

“I do not,” Donnie denied, still not taking a peek at the blue masked turtle. 

“You turned a cuddly animatronic bear into a psychotic robot bent on destroying us,” Leo challenged him. “No? Got April fired? Mm-mm, nothing? Hmm?”

“That does not sound like me, no,” Donnie finally got to look at him but still denied the events back in the pizzeria. 

Mizuki stood there on the platform and gazed at the microphone with worried eyes. Her body shook heavily at the thought of singing in front of numerous people out there. 

This is her first time singing on stage and in front of a live crowd. 

She should be excited at this moment. So why is she scared? 

Donnie sensed that something is wrong and noticed Mizuki shaking and staring down at the microphone. 

“Hey? You okay there, Miz?” He asked her.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” Mizuki confessed, not bothering to glance at him. “Maybe I should let Raph lead us in this thing.”

“Hey, hey, hey, hey. No. No,” Donnie shook his head and spun her around gently by the shoulders for her to face him. “We can’t have negative thinking on this stage here. What are you talking about here?” 

“What if I mess up? What if people make fun of me?” Mizuki said, close to tears. “What if I’m not good enough, let alone sing very well?” 

“Mizuki, listen to me,” Donnie softly told her. “There’s a girl standing in front of me who’s got the most angelic voice people will ever hear, as well as me. And if they got a problem with that, then they can talk to me about it.”

Mizuki giggled lightly at his angered manner as he said this. 

“Now listen,” he went on. “You’re going to nail this gig. You’re the songbird and you’re amazing. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

“You really mean that?” She asked him with hope. 

“If I was sarcastic, would I have not meant it?” He shrugged his shoulders playfully. 

She giggled and stared down at the floor. She glanced back up at him and smiled hopefully. 

He beamed back at her lovingly. 

Screams appeared from behind the curtain of the stage. 

“Can you hear that? This crowd is wild for us, guys,” Mikey had his ear against the curtain. 

“We are so good, we don’t even need to play to make people go crazy, baby,” Raph said in his deep voice. 

“Are you guys ready for our lives to change?” Leo wrapped his arms around his brothers and Mizuki. 

Mizuki nodded with determination and confidence. 

“Now let’s go show the crowd what we can do,” Donnie smirked and picked up his keyboard that is strapped around his neck. 

“Let’s do this,” Mizuki said, straightening her back, and took the microphone without fear. 

The curtains opened up and Raph, Donnie, Leo and Mizuki faced the crowd, about to sing their hearts out. 

“Hello, Albeartol—“ Raph started, bu then screamed at the horrifying sight in front of them. 

Donnie, Leo, and Mizuki also became shocked when they saw the place in utter chaos. 

Many people ran away in the theme park, passing the stage and leaving the docks. Fires engulfed the stands that were already destroyed. The Albearto bots chased after the screaming people. 

Mikey’s back was turned around, not even noticing the destruction happening. 

“Woot, there it is, our first bloodcurdling shrieks of love,” he cheered. 

“Um, maybe you should take a better look,” Mizuki stated nervously and grabbed his head, spinning him around. 

Mikey gasped and pulled up his glasses. 

“Those bots are ruining our gig,” Leo snarled. 

“As well as harassing hundreds and hundreds of people,” Donnie stated. 

“Which is ruining our gig,” Leo added. 

“How about we warm ourselves up before we continue our big gig?” Mizuki pulled out her weapons. 

“Let’s get ‘em,” Raph, now in his normal voice, yelled. 

The brothers and Mizuki jumped off the stage and started after the Albearto bots. 

A little girl with a stuffed animal in her hand ran and hid behind the barrels, crying her eyes out, as a Germany-themed Albearto threw pretzels at her like shurikens. 

The mascot and an Italian-themed Albearto cornered her and were about to make their moves. 

“It’s one thing to trap innocent people in a park of doom...” Leo sped at them with his guitar in his hands. 

He hit the Germany-themed Albearto with his instrument. The bot landed on a hammer game, the bell ringing as the small hitter slammed on his head before stopping. 

“It’s another to ruin our gig!” Leo pointed at the defeated bot. 

“Bonjour!” The Italian-themed Albearto stood up from the ground and raised his arms with baguettes. 

“Flingabunga!” Mikey grabbed him with his kusari-fundo and threw him up in the air and into a stand. 

Mizuki flew in, picking up the little girl, and sprinted towards the exit. She skidded to a halt when another Albearto bot stepped in front of her and growled. 

She narrowed her eyes and threw her fan at the bot. The fan sliced off the head and flew back into her hand. 

The blue-haired girl found the younger child’s mother and handed her back safely. 

“God bless you, miss,” the mother sobbed while cradling her daughter. “Bless you.”

Mizuki heard loud yelling from a distance and gasped. 

“Just get out of here as quick as you can safely,” she instructed the mother before rushing back to the theme park. 

Just as she was about to turn around the corner, a hand harshly grabbed her by the arm and pulled her forward. 

“Ow! Let go!” She cried and fought to get the Albearto bot off of her. 

Donnie slammed the hammer end of his staff on the bot’s head, which forced it to let her go and tumble down to the ground lifeless. 

“You okay?” He softly asked her and checked over her for any injuries. 

She nodded hastily. 

“All right, we beat those Beartos,” Raph smirked, his hands on his hips. 

“Yeah, but we lost all our loving fans,” Mikey slid up next to him. 

The brothers and Mizuki watched the rest of the crowd run away and screaming. 

She sighed disappointedly. But at least they all had made it out okay. 

“Hey, uh, what’s that vaguely familiar guy doing?” Donnie gestured to an Albearto robot. 

He was standing near a large antenna on the docks. Mizuki squinted her eyes at the figure before they went big with terror. 

“Hold on! That’s why he’s vaguely familiar! That’s the original Albearto!” She yelled. 

“You can’t stop me from freeing my chums,” Albearto said, standing next to an open control panel of the antenna, and shoved his hand in the panel. “Let’s spice up these meatballs!” 

The antenna changed to red as it engulfed the entire docks and affected every Albearto concession bot. 

The brothers and Mizuki became horrified when they saw they are surrounded. 

“These animatronic stereotypes are ruing our gig,” Donnie stated, holding Mizuki close to him. 

Albearto laughed evilly as he stood on one of the Ferris wheel boxes. 

“At last, humans will be our mascots, our serves, our entertainers, and we will not tip!” He declared. “The only thing in our way is these turtles. Shred them!” 

“And by tomorrow, humanity will be our slaves, starting with this one!” Albearto then gestured to Mizuki. 

She gasped terrified as Donnie glared at the mascot and held her closer protectively. 

The Albearto bots glanced at the teens and charged towards them. 

The brothers screamed and jumped on top of a hot dog stand, with Donnie hugging Mizuki close protectively and Leo fending them off with his guitar. The bots tried to grab them from below with no avail. 

“This gig stinks!” Mikey complained. “Why did we even start a band in the first place?”

“Because we wanted to change the world and bring people joy with our eclectic sound,” Leo crouched next to him and wrapped his arm around him. 

“And is there any reason why that shouldn’t work for animatronic robots?” Raph asked, smiling. 

“No, no, I cannot think of one,” Donnie added, shaking his head. 

“But I am thinking what you’re all thinking,” Mizuki smirked at the brothers. 

They all jumped back onto the stage, lights from above shining on them. 

“Listen up, y’all,” Raph announced to the Albearto bots “We dedicate this groove to you all beautiful bear bots out there.”

“Hit it,” he turned to his brothers and Mizuki. 

Leo was the one to start playing as he strummed his guitar. 

“All right, Albeartos, time to get your circuits jammed!” Mikey yelled through one of the microphones. 

Donnie played his electronic keyboard smoothly. 

“Oh, yeah!” Raph started singing alongside his brothers. 

Mizuki wanted to hold back her laughter as she witnessed the turtles dancing and singing out of tune. 

Raph did the splits while standing on one leg, his pants ripping apart, and singing out of tune. 

Leo slammed his guitar on the ground numerous times. 

Mikey kicked his legs in the air while beatboxing upside down. 

Donnie took a moment to look at her and wink at her. 

She took a deep breath and grabbed the other microphone in her hand and started to sing. Swaying her hips to the beats she could muster in her mind, Mizuki smoothly sung with all her might, her voice ringing across the park. 

One by one, the Albearto bots began to destroy themselves from the loud noises. 

“Hey, what’s going on?” Raph raised a questioning eyebrow. 

“We are blowing their minds!” Leo exclaimed and strummed his guitar, a disjointed guitar chord following his command. 

“Keep going, Raph. It’s working,” Mizuki whispered to him, hitting him with her leg gently. 

Raph suddenly understood and kept on singing with her off-key. 

A few more Albearto bots blew up from having to listen to their music. 

“Guys, I think this is working,” Leo smiled. 

“They do appear to be more peaceful,” Donnie remarked. 

“Only when they are destroying themselves,” Mizuki commented, smirking, as two Albearto bots tore off the wires from one another. 

Soon, the rest of the bots pulled the wires from themselves and fell to the ground. 

“Ooh, it’s so awful,” Albearto hopped on a bumper car, which shocked him. “I wanna say something dramatic and villainy, but my little bitty ears can’t take any more of this. You accused turtles and female singer have bested—no, worsted me yet again!” 

The bumper car instantly went out of control and drove out of the bumper car attraction. Albearto was unable to control the ride and crashed into oncoming traffic. 

Mizuki winced at the loud crash from a few miles. 

“Guys, we did it,” Mikey wrapped his arms around her and Donnie, who had his goggles on instead of the helmet. 

“We nailed our first gig,” Donnie spoke up next. 

“We are the Mad Dogs,” Raph said. 

“Good night, Albeartoland,” Leo yelled into the microphone before dropping it dramatically. 

“And Mizzy, you did very well out here tonight,” Donnie smiled at her. 

“Yeah. I guess I did,” Mizuki chuckled, her cheeks light red. 

“Hungry?” Raph asked.   
“Pizza?” Leo suggested. 

“Albearto’s?” Donnie added. 

“Guarantee!” Mikey answered. 

Mizuki giggled. 

From above one of the rides, a lone figure with their cape flowing behind them from the breeze studied her. Their eyes stared at her with interest and smugness. 

“Hmm, interesting,” the figure said, smirking darkly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: (Doing a narrator's voice) Who is this mysterious figure? What are their intentions with Mizuki? What will happen to her when she comes face to face with this stranger? Find out in the next episode of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: From Allies to Lovers. 
> 
> Leo: (walks into the room) Hey, Pay. What'cha doing?
> 
> Me: (clear my throat to change my voice) Nothing. 
> 
> Leo: (sees my phone) Hey, can I take a look?
> 
> Me: (shaking my head) No. (Laughs nervously)
> 
> Leo: Come on, I wanna look. 
> 
> Me: No. 
> 
> Leo: Give me it. 
> 
> Me: (laughs nervously again) No. 
> 
> Leo: (reaches for it) Come on!
> 
> Me: (puts my phone out of reach) No!
> 
> Leo: Give it!
> 
> Me: No!
> 
> Leo: Give it! Come on!
> 
> I run with my phone in my hand while laughing wildly as Leo begins to chase around. He grabs the back collar of my shirt, resulting in me screaming and laughing louder. 
> 
> Leo: Come on, give it!
> 
> Donnie: (steps into the room) What's going on?
> 
> He sees me with my phone, the chapters I have written on the screen being shown to him. He yells and starts chasing me beside Leo. Raph sees me running with the two behind me and tries to block my path. I avoid him and continue screaming and laughing like a maniac as Leo and Donnie chase me down.


	21. Bonus Chapter (Girls' Night Out)

Mizuki sat on her bed, cleaning up her fans from the last battle she and the turtles had. She blew a strand of hair off her face as she kept on shining the top end of her weapons. 

“Wish I have a night off,” she mumbled. “All this fighting crime is giving me the desire to relax.”

Her phone suddenly pinged beside her on the bed. She perked up when she saw it’s from Donnie. 

“Hey, Miz. It’s Donatello,” he had messaged to her. “Just wanted to check up on ya.”

“Nothing too exciting at the moment,” she typed back. “But I could use a break from all this fighting crime.”

“Really glad you said that, because I have not found any crime happening here in New York,” Donnie replied. “So, therefore, you could relax for a while.”

“Oh, thank God for that,” Mizuki breathed out a sigh of relief. 

“I appreciate you telling me that, Donnie,” she typed on her phone. “I’ll text you later.”

“Talk to ya later,” Donnie texted her back. 

Mizuki took a full second to take in the news before she silently cheered, pumping her fists in the air and laying on the bed. Her fans now forgotten, she sighed in content and thought about what she should do for the night. 

She didn’t have to think long when she felt a soft, warm object lay on her after the sound of whizzing. Mayhem purred at her in greeting when she looked up. 

April smiled at her and giggled as she stood in her room. 

“Hey, Mayhem,” she greeted back and petted the dog-creature. “What are you guys doing here?” 

“Donnie said something about no crimes happening for the night, and that you got the night off,” April answered. 

Mizuki rolled her eyes playfully when she knew who told her. “Donnie.”

“So what are you thinking?” The brown-haired girl raised an excited eyebrow. 

“I have not made up my mind about it yet,” Mizuki told her. “But I was hoping for a night out in town. Times Square, perhaps?”

“I like what you’re thinking, girl,” April perked up. “But didn’t you remember what happened the last time you and the guys went there?” 

“I recall that very well. But I believe I’ll be better prepared.”

Mayhem squeaked in joy and ran around her fans in circles. 

“Sounds like a good plan,” April beamed, placing her hands on her hips. “Girls’ Night Out has officially begun!”

*****

Times Square became more thriving at night than in the daytime. People walked around, chattering and laughing as they walked by the attractions and stands in the streets. 

Lights hung from above in the air by the poles, aided by the ads on the buildings and outside restaurants. 

April and Mizuki walked around, with Mayhem resting in the other girl’s backpack. 

Mizuki was dressed in a hip-length pink-golden dress with black tights, ankle-high boots, a brown jacket, and her golden locket. Her hair was put up in a low ponytail, reaching the same height of her waist as her braid. 

The girls gazed around at the sights of Times Squares in amazement as they walked around. 

“Wow, this place is more beautiful at night,” Mizuki exhaled in wonder. 

“Told you, girl,” April smiled. “Now where do you want to go to first?” 

Mayhem lit up and nearly popped out from April’s backpack, squeaking in excitement. The girls eyed a sign he was gesturing to. 

The sign read “Stars Out Tonight: Special Look”, with the silhouette of a young man, a white mask covering his eyes. He was pointing up at the sky with stars, making them look like they are shimmering. 

“A star show tonight?” Mizuki pondered. “Who knew.”

“C’mon, girl, let’s go check it out,” April quickly pulled her along to where the sign is leading them to. 

By the time they got to where the sign directed them to go, dozens of people are already sitting down and excitedly chattering about the show. A large ceiling had the same color as the midnight atmosphere, some stars repeatedly blinking before disappearing. 

“Ooh, this is gonna be exciting,” April said as she took a seat as well as Mizuki. 

“And I bet it’s going to be even more amazing,” the other girl remarked. 

Mayhem hopped out of April’s backpack and rested on her lap. 

A hand pulled back the curtain far enough to cover himself and see through the small crack. A dark laugh quietly rang out when they saw Mizuki and April in the crowd. 

“Just in time,” the figure said before closing the curtain. 

The lights suddenly dimmed before the lights on the stage lit up and moved around over the crowd. 

“Ladies and gentlemen...” a voice boomed across the area. “Welcome to the Stars Out Tonight special show, where the lights above can now in front of your very eyes. Give your greatest greetings to your host...”

Colorful smoke suddenly appeared and spread across the stage. A figure stepped up behind the smoke, raising his arms and instantly a motion to force the smoke away. 

“The Star Master Nova Cosmos!” 

The young man laughed as he has his arms still raised in the air. He is wearing a black suit with a long cape with a starry sky and galaxy in the back. A white mask covered his eyes, leaving his purple and blue mullet flow freely. 

The crowd applauded for the arrival of the man. April gasped delighted and Mizuki clapped impressed. 

“Greetings, ladies and gentlemen!” Nova declared to the audience, bowing. “Aren’t the stars in the sky lovely this evening?” 

A few people cheered and whistled. 

“I thought so,” Nova chuckled. “Now, before we begin this show, let me warm up myself for this evening.”

He folded up his sleeves and cracked his knuckles. He rolled his hands repeatedly before he outstretched them up to the sky. 

The stars above the audience gradually moved around, following his command, until they flew down to him. 

Smirking triumphantly, he then made a motion with his hands, gesturing to the front of the crowd. The stars flew around the excited people, swirling around them. Some kids giggled as they tried to catch the small lights. 

Mizuki chuckled with joy when a few of the stars flew her way and twirled around her. Mayhem gazed at them with wonder and astonishment. 

“Ah, take a look at these beauties,” Nova said to the crowd. “Such delightful sights, are they?”

He made a motion with his hand once more. The stars flew back up to the ceiling before returning to their normal positions. 

“Now, let’s put this show on the road!” He announced. 

The crowd cheered and clapped again. 

“First off, I’ve always wanted to try this in a long time,” he stated before turning around. 

For a moment, it seemed like he was not going to turn around. 

In an instant, he spun around and flung his arms out in the open. Dozens of tiny lights sparked out from his palms and floated over the audiences. 

Everyone awed at the sights, a few cheering. 

Mizuki gasped in wonder as she stared at the sparkling suns. 

Nova then lifted up his arm and made a forward gesture with his finger. 

The stars gathered around Mizuki and lifted her up from her seat. 

“Hey. Hey!” She laughed as she was floated towards the stage where Nova is standing. 

She was set down near the star magician as some people in the crowd cheered wildly. 

“Oh, hello,” Nova pretended to be surprised at the young blue-haired girl. “I’m terribly sorry about my stars. They just don’t know how to behave sometimes.”

He took her hand and kissed the back of her palm. Mizuki blushed lightly at the polite man. 

“And may I have the honor of knowing your name, milady?” He asked her. 

“Um, it’s Mizuki,” Mizuki replied sheepishly. 

She hated to admit it, but he somehow reminded her of Donnie. 

“Mizuki, you say?” Nova raised a flirtatious eyebrow. “As in, the blue moon? Beautiful name.” 

“Uh-oh,” April mumbled, smirking. “Donnie’s gonna be jealous.”

Mayhem squeaked, as if he was giggling. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, for this performance, I would like to dedicate this to this wonderful, young lady,” Nova rubbed his hands together. 

He instantly shot up his hands in the air, and more stars flew out from underneath his sleeves. 

The floating lights swirled around before they formed a figure in a long dress. Some people gasped in amazement at the trick. 

The figure turned towards the crowd and smiled a sweet beam. She danced around in an Indian motion, swaying her hips and gliding her hands down her body. 

Mizuki tried to find April and Mayhem in the crowd but was astonished to see them not on their seats anymore. 

‘Where could they have gone?’ She thought. ‘Maybe the restroom?’

The dancing figure swiftly transformed to a creature with wings and growled at the audience, who screamed in fright from the unexpected transformation. 

“Oh, no, no, no, no. Do not be alarmed, folks,” Nova laughed heartily. “It’s merely part of the performance.”

Mizuki began to feel uncomfortable from the whole thing, even as Nova had calmed down the terrified audience, although she still tried to smile calmly and watch the event unfold. 

“Now, this last part…will blow you away,” Nova shook his arms. 

He swiftly outstretched them once more. The creature roared loudly, and the audience now screamed with fear and started to run away. Some people nearly fell over before getting back up. 

“What in the world?!” Mizuki shouted. 

The winged creature then leaped at the running people and clawed at them, missing them completely. 

She saw an exit behind the stage curtains and looked to see if Nova is looking. She slowly tiptoed to the door before reaching for the handle. 

“Ah, ah, ah, ah,” Nova said without looking at her. “Where do you think you’re going, Mizuki?” 

The stars from the ceiling came back to life again and pulled her back to where the star magician is standing. 

“What is this? What’s going on?” She asked fearfully. 

“Now, now, now, Mizuki,” Nova smirked smugly, taking her by the hands. “I’ve decided to save this best for last for you.”

“F-for me? What are you talking about?” 

Nova only smirked at her as he raised his hand and rolled it around. The stars on the ceiling moved at his command and circled around them before lifting them up. 

Mizuki gasped fearfully and nearly fell off, but Nova grabbed her by the waist and held onto her. They are flown up through the ceiling and into the open area of Times Square. 

They floated up in the air, overlooking the Times Square. She inhaled a terrified breath of air as she looked down to find herself dozens of feet above the ground. 

Not only that, but different creatures in the form of floating lights are terrorizing dozens of people below her. 

Mizuki frantically searched the horrified crowd for any sign of her friends. 

Where were April and Mayhem when she needs them?

“Mizuki...come with me,” Nova finally replied. 

“What?!” She looked at him in bewilderment and terror. 

“Do not be alarmed, for I have seen you doing amazing things from the beginning,” he explained to her. “Since I first saw you, I knew I couldn’t function without you in my life. My lovely blue star.”

He dipped down the petrified blue-haired girl, who whimpered. She was trying to push him away from her, but he had his grasp on her and wasn’t planning on letting her go. 

“Be my love, my queen by my side,” he finished, smiling a dark grin. “With you, we shall rule the stars and the cosmos above. And no one will stand in our way.”

Mizuki’s eyes were large as saucers with terror for a moment before they changed to smug and determined. 

“I wouldn’t bet on that yet,” she said to him. 

Before Nova could progress what is going on, he was suddenly knocked off his stars and let Mizuki go in the process. She instantly yelled, but was caught gently and pulled up safely by the arm. She was soon back on the ground with a relieved April and smiling Mayhem. 

“Sorry we left you, girl,” April told her. “We knew something was up when he let those lights loose.”

“No hard feelings,” Mizuki replied. 

Nova rubbed his chin and glared down at the girls and Mayhem. 

“You!” He snarled, pointing at them. “How did you manage to get away from my stars?!” 

“Let’s just say, it took gut feelings to realize something is going on,” April grinned smugly. 

Mayhem narrowed his eyes while smiling up at him. 

“Alright, then,” Nova sneered. “How about we amp this show up tonight?”

He waved his hands around again, and the creatures turned towards the girls and Mayhem. 

April picked up two poles off the ground and handed one to Mizuki. 

“It’s go time.”

The star monsters charged at them, roaring and extending their claws out. 

April jumped out of the way in time and slammed her pole weapon on one of the monster, which disappeared into tiny lights dissolving. 

Mizuki jumped on top of a food stand as two different wolves bit at her. She kicked one of them away, chaining them back to lights, before hitting the other with her pole. The wolf disappeared into stars as the last one. 

Mayhem landed on the ground and looked on both sides to find two large beasts running towards him. At the last moment, he teleported out of the way, just as the two creatures unintentionally ran into one another head on. 

Mayhem teleported safely on April’s shoulder and smirked victoriously as the two creatures vanished in small floating lights. 

“That is impressive,” Nova said. “But unfortunately, this is only the beginning.”

He raised his arms slowly in the air, and various stars magically appeared all around him. Large creatures began to form with the stars, growling at April and Mayhem. 

“Once I dispose of you interfering fools,” Nova cackled. “I will take Mizuki as my queen of the midnight stars, and we will rule the cosmos as husband and w—“

A hard object knocked him out behind the head. Nova made a funny face when he was hit by the pole. He fell down, revealing a grinning Mizuki standing behind him with her silver weapon being held over her shoulders. 

“Ha, ha, ha! I’ve always wanted to do that!” She flipped her pole in the air and caught it. 

The moment he was knocked unconscious, the stars fell apart and dissipated into the night sky. 

April and Mayhem both let out exhales on comfort and smiled up at the blue-haired girl. 

“That is one way to end Girl’s Night Out,” April remarked, her hands on her hips. 

“Tell me about it,” Mizuki added. 

Police sirens sounded from afar, catching the girls’ and Mayhem’s attention. 

“Wanna head back?” April asked. 

“After we tie up this flirty fellow, let’s,” Mizuki smirked. 

The police cars arrived at Times Square, skidding to a full stop. The officers stepped out and found, to their astonishment, a gradually awake Nova Cosmos hanging by a light pole and tied up in Christmas-like lights. 

*****

Mizuki and April laughed as they sat on Mizuki’s bed, with Mayhem resting content in the latter’s lap. 

“That was a fun night,” Mizuki commented, giggled. “And all I had to do was run into a boy who stalked me since the fiasco at Albeartoland.”

“No kidding,” April replied. “Best Girl’s Night Out ever. We should do this again sometime.”

Mizuki thought about it for a moment before she smiled. “Love to do that.”


	22. The Purple Jacket

Mizuki walked down the hallway and headed to where April’s class is. Instead of wearing her armor, she was dressed in a red shirt, blue jeans, boots, and a golden-rose jacket. Her locket is still there around her neck, safely hidden beneath the shirt. 

She did not know how the students aren’t suspicious of her when she entered the school. But she was relieved that the disguise worked for her. 

She soon found April’s class and entered with ease. 

A few students looked up from the computers they are on and became astounded by her strange beauty. 

“Yeah, I know,” Mizuki nodded her head at their expressions. 

She looked around the room until she noticed a familiar head of brown puffs. 

“You called us down here?” Mizuki whispered, taking a seat next to the brown-haired girl. 

“Yeah,” April nodded. “I kinda need something with Donnie, who should be here any moment now.”

Shurikens were thrown near April, reading “I’m here!” 

She looked up and gasped surprised. 

Donnie, who is wearing a purple hoodie, was hanging over them on the lights. He yelled as he fell near the girls. 

Mizuki winced at the impact. 

“Hi, Donnie. Thanks for coming over, guys,” April said. 

“No probbles,” Donnie stood up and sat on another chair. “I love this place.”

He inhaled and stood up in a flash. “Smells like learning and puberty!” 

Mizuki quickly pulled him back down, shushing him. “You’ve got to keep it down, okay?”

“Oh, right. Yeah, gotcha,” he winked at her before turning his attention back to April. “So, what do you need help with?” 

“My computer science project,” April typed on her laptop. “Just need you to check the code to make sure I haven’t missed anything.”

Donnie scooted up next to April and typed on the computer. “Ah! You don’t know how lucky you are to be in school, April, surrounded by true intellectuals, scholars after my own heart, resplendent in gorges purple satin jackets—“

He stopped suddenly when he saw a few people wearing what he was describing last beforehand. “What?! Purple satin jackets?”

His eyes sparkled at the smooth clothing. “The shimmering sheen, the exquisite violet hue, the silkiness of the fabric! It has everything I love, and even things I didn’t know I loved yet—“

“Donnie, if you drool in here, something’s gonna short-circuit,” April remarked, pushing herself back on the chair with her foot. 

Donnie was drooling as he stared contently at the people wearing the jackets. Mizuki giggled and closed his mouth. 

He snapped out of the trance the moment she touched him and quickly sat back up on his chair. “They must be the kings and queens of high school.”

“The Purple Dragons tech club?” April glanced at them with envy. “Yeah, if by kings and queens, you mean stuck up jerks who think they’re smarter than everyone else.”

“Oh, that’s what I’m hoping you’d say!” Donnie spun around on the chair, his arms up. 

Mizuki took a moment to study their environment in the far back of the computer lab. 

Two students on one side are hanging by their underwear on the towering drives. 

The walls are decorated with spray-painted words ‘Dragons’, with three computers set up in the center. 

A girl with light pink hair, tan skin, and a red bonnet watched the younger man type on the computer, while another boy sat on the floor and typed on another laptop. 

Mizuki narrowed her eyes at the people. 

The boy at the three computers suddenly screamed and moved around as if he was trying to get away from something. 

The two teens laughed and bumped their fists in a strange way. 

“Oh, my gosh, did you see that?” Donnie grinned widely. 

“What? That wack high-five?” April remarked.

“Nay, fair April,” he lifted his finger up at her. “A secret five evocative of the golden ratios of the cosmos. Superior minds, glorious jackets—”

He was floating up in the chair in a zen motion before he eyed the group again determined. “April, Mizuki, I am joining this club.” 

“You what now?” April raised an eyebrow. 

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Mizuki said to him as he walked to them in a calm manner. 

She sighed, rolling her eyes, and followed behind to make sure he doesn’t get into trouble. 

“Greetings, tech enthusiasts,” Donnie declared and bowed to the Purple Dragons, who eyes them. “I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of your club—wait for it, here it comes—it’s me.”

The girl was holding the goggles away from the boy with the glasses, who was holding onto them. She let them instantly, and the goggles hit him in the face. 

“Uh-huh,” the girl said and checked her nails. “April, that’s your name, right?”

“You’ve known me since kindergarten, Kendra,” April remarked and slid up on her chair behind Donnie and Mizuki. 

“Uh-huh,” Kendra hummed again. “Who are these people, and why does this guy look like mold?”

Mizuki resisted the urge to attack Kendra full-on. 

“Jeremy, Jason, Kendra,” April sighed before gesturing to Donnie and Mizuki. “These are my friends Mizuki Harrison and Don—“

“Othello Von Ryan—” Donnie slid up in front of April and made various heroic poses. 

He jumped behind the Purple Dragons as he went on. “Maker...coder...artisan.”

“I am ready to join your esteemed collective,” he stepped in front of them proudly.

He then studied Kendra’s jacket. “And with regard to purple jackets, I am a medium.”

Kendra suddenly slammed her foot on his own, prompting him to yelp in pain and soothe his aching foot. 

“Sorry, Von Ryan,” Kendra said. “But to join this group, you gotta bring something to the table. So...buy-bye.”

“Prepare to be...Von Ryaned,” Donnie smirked. 

He whipped out his bo-staff, which formed to different weapons on both ends. Jason and Jeremy gawked at it in wonder. 

“Wow! It’s the granddaddy of all multi-tools!” The one with the yellow glasses gasped. 

“Okay, it’s not bad,” Kendra nonchalantly shrugged and gently pushed the flamethrower away from her. “What else ya got?”

“Come on!” April rolled her eyes in annoyance. “You don’t have to impress these fools.”

“That’s what people say when they don’t have anything impressive...like this!” Donnie pressed a button on his goggles. 

A few seconds later, his battle shells appeared in the computer room and floated above the ground. The students in the room gasped in amazement. 

“Sweeeet!” Jeremy gasped in excitement and studied the shells. “So, how these things communicate? Is it a microwave transceiver?”

“With class C encryption protocols,” Donnie smirked and pressed a button on his bo-staff. 

“Oh...my...fave!” Jeremy’s eyes shone at the staff. “I know class C inside and out.”

“Can the bromance,” Kendra grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and pulled him away. 

“Von Ryan...” she pointed at Donnie before smiling. “You’re in.”

Mizuki sighed and rolled her eyes. 

“Me, too, girl,” April nodded. 

“Quit smiling, Jase,” Kendra ordered the boy with the glasses, who stopped dancing around. “You’re still low man on the totem pole.”

She then pulled off the jacket of him and threw it up in the air. 

The jacket landed on Donnie’s arm. He suddenly gasped in delight and put it on him. 

“Yes! Be honest, girls,” Donnie turned to April, who still had her arms folded, and Mizuki. “Do I look fantastic or superbly fantastic?!”

“You look like you dropped a juice box in the laundry,” April remarked unimpressed. 

Mizuki heard beeping from the back of the jacket and peeked behind Donnie to find the red eyes of the dragon image blinking. 

She narrowed her eyes at the Purple Dragons in suspicion. 

*****

Later on, Mizuki, now clad in her armor, entered the lair through the opening above and landed on the skating ramp with ease.

“Hey, guys,” she greeted the other turtles. 

“Hey, Miz,” they said collectively.

She studied their expressions carefully before realizing something. “Did you notice Donnie’s new jacket?”

“Yep, we did,” Leo groaned and threw his comic to the ground. “I can’t believe it! The nerve of that guy!”

“Who brings something that beautiful into a place like this?” Mikey fell on his knees. 

“I would give up every red bandana to feel the silky smoothness of that purple satin on my skin!” Raph complained. 

“I had a sense that you’re jealous,” Mizuki remarked, her hands on her hips. “Where is Donnie, anyway?”

“He went in his room before you came,” Mikey gestured to the tech genius’s lab. “Probably fawning over his new jacket.”

“Well, I don’t intend to interrupt his alone time,” Mizuki explained. “But I have a feeling about the group he had joined, a sense I can’t quite dig through to.”

“Aw, don’t tell me you’re jealous of Donnie’s new coat, too,” Raph smirked at her. 

“No, it’s not that,” Mizuki denied. “There’s this strange vibe I have around those Purple Dragons, but I can’t seem to catch it.”

“Either envy or desire to join, too?” Leo suggested. 

Mizuki shook her head playfully and chuckled. “Anyway, I was just checking up on you guys, to see if you’re not affected by Donnie’s new coat wear.”

“Too late, we already are,” Mikey piped up. 

“Tell him I’ve stopped by, okay?” She called as she exited the lair. 

“We will!” Raph called back. 

*****

Mizuki tossed and turned on her bed later on that night. She groaned and gripped the bedsheets. 

“Mama! Papa!”

She panted heavily as sweat poured down her forehead. 

“Mizuki!”

“Mama!”

“Mama...” she mumbled. 

“MIZUKI!” 

“No!” Mizuki shot up on the bed and breathed greatly. 

Her eyes were wide with horror and shock and sweat was pooling down her head. Her hair was a complete mess from the tossing and turning. 

She exhaled and rubbed her forehead. 

A few fast taps on her window brought her to look up. She became surprised to see Donnie, whose face was panicked and determined. 

“Donnie?” Mizuki yawned and opened the window. “What’s going on?” 

She yelped when he suddenly lifted her up bridal style and jumped off the fire escape. 

“I’ll explain on the way! Just hang tight!” He quickly said as he headed towards April’s place. 

*****

“They did WHAT?!” Mizuki practically yelled as she sat behind April on her bike. 

Donnie sat on the bike basket and held a flashlight as April cycled down the road. He had brought Mizuki an extra jacket for Mizuki to wear. 

“I warned you about those guys!” April panted. 

“You said they were full of themselves, not that they were criminal masterminds,” Donnie shone the light on the brown-skinned girl. “So in a small sense, this is entirely your fault.”

“Let’s not play the blame game here!” Mizuki interjected. “Although you were clearly entranced by their jackets and their technology. I knew there was something fishy about them.”

“First off, Mizzy’s right,” April agreed. “And second, what kind of criminal masterminds just rob electronic stores?” 

“Maybe they just need equipment for a bigger job,” Donnie suggested. 

“You mean like the one they were practicing on that VR simulator? The Nakamura vault?” April leaned into his face. 

“No, that’s a real company!” Donnie replied. “Nakamura computer chips are in like every computer in the country!” 

“So, if they get to the computer chips...” Mizuki realized. 

“Not gonna happen while we’re around!” Donnie smirked, along with April. “Let’s go!” 

April pedaled down the road to the Nakamura company building as hard as she could. 

They soon arrived at the building and found the Purple Dragons already entering the highest floor. 

“How are we gonna get up there with no tech?” April wondered. 

“Old-school,” Donnie said. 

He whipped out knife claws and placed them on his palms, making a pose like a tiger. 

“Jazz hands!” He exclaimed before jumping towards the windows. 

He splattered on the window, and Mizuki winced at the impact. 

“Come on. Plan B,” April grabbed him by the ankle and dragged him to the other side of the building, with Mizuki following behind them. 

They busted through the doors and stopped at the stairs, which turned out to be pretty longer than they imagined. 

Donnie growled while April narrowed her eyes. 

“Let’s get them!” Mizuki said. 

They ran up the flight of stairs as fast as they could without stopping for a rest. 

“I hope we’re not too late,” Donnie mumbled. 

“Me, too,” Mizuki replied. 

Finally, they reached the room where the Purple Dragons are already downloading the virus. 

“Okay, nerds. I want my stuff back!” Donnie pointed at Kendra. 

“I got the code!” Jeremy exclaimed, holding up his laptop, and got up. “Let’s go!” 

Kendra and Jason followed after him. 

The teens growled and chased after them. 

Mizuki and April turned and the corner to the hallway of computer codes. Donnie slid past the hallway the Purple Dragons went to and picked up a wheel of wires. 

“End of the line, buddy-o!” He threw the wheel, which rolled near the two girls. “April, Mizzy, heads up!” 

April picked up the end of the wire and kicked towards Jason and Jeremy. 

He was hit from behind first before the wire tied around their feet and they fell to the ground. The laptop flew out of their hands in the process. 

“The code!” They shouted. 

“Got it!” Kendra caught the laptop and continued running down the hallway. 

“Never betray...Othello Von Ryan!” Donnie said victoriously. “Grab the tech!” 

“Sorry, fellas,” Mizuki picked up one of the shells off Jeremy’s back. “But my friend here needs it more than you do.”

She handed it to Donnie, who smiled at her. Then they followed after Kendra. 

“I’ll tether myself to your jetpack!” He said. 

“Wait—what?!” April yelled. 

Kendra jumped through the hole she had made to break in and forced the hover shell to open up. She flew up and chuckled darkly. 

“Hang on to me!” Donnie grabbed Mizuki by the waist and shot up a rope for April to grab. 

“Donnie, are you out of your miiiiiind?!” She shrieked and wrapped her arms around his neck. 

They jumped out through and the jetpack fired up. April screamed as she flew, trying to stay in control. Donnie and Mizuki flew behind her by the rope. 

“How do you fly this thing?!” April asked. 

“Everyone’s got their own style,” Donnie reassured. “Just do what comes natural.”

“What comes natural is not flying!” She shot back. 

“I’m afraid I’m going to agree with April on this one!” Mizuki added and clung onto him. 

The jetpack fired up again and they flew straight towards Kendra. 

Kendra shot at them with the bo-staff, laughing. 

April, Donnie, and Mizuki then soared straight at the Purple Dragons leader, who flew at them as well. 

Mizuki shut her eyes tightly, bracing herself for impact. 

However, Kendra hit the jetpack with the bo-staff and smirked evilly. 

The jetpack caught on fire and began to malfunction. 

“Oh, no!” Mizuki exclaimed. 

They fell towards the city and screamed. However, the rope got caught on a telephone line, slowing their fall. It snapped into two, and the teens fell into an alleyway. 

Donnie sighed in relief when he realized he is still holding Mizuki, who is unharmed from the fall. 

“Glad I have you as a landing pad,” she joked. 

“I think I broke your jetpack,” April got up and glanced at the now damaged jetpack. 

“No probbles. I got this!” Donnie smirked proudly. 

His spider shell opened up behind him, preparing for the fix. 

“Not so fast, Von Ryan,” Kendra floated behind the pair on the hover shell. 

She typed on the computer before the spider shell unexpectedly turned on Donnie. 

“Oh—Hey—Oh—Stop!” He yelled as it attacked him. “Override! Override! Alpha Bootyyshaker9000! Three Ys!” 

“Well, Von Ryan, looks like you’re outta luck,” Kendra smirked smugly and floated near the ground. “I’d love to spend all night beating you up with your own tech, but I’ve got a global bank to hack.”

“Buh-bye,” she blew a kiss before she starting to fly away. 

Mizuki narrowed her eyes at the Purple Dragons leader. She ran up to a dumpster can and jumped off the top. She yelled and caught her by the waist before she climbed up to get the computer. 

“Hey—What are you doing?! Get off me!” Kendra demanded. 

She attempted to pry her off of her, but Mizuki was stronger and faster than her. 

Meanwhile, April wrestled with the malfunctioning spider shell away from Donnie, who then glanced at the two other girls wrestling for the laptop. 

The blue-haired girl finally grabbed the computer away from her hands and glared at her. 

“Nobody messes with my friend like that,” Mizuki sneered. 

She punched Kendra in the face before she jumped off and landed safely on the ground. 

She raised the laptop high in the air and smashed it on the ground with all her might. 

“No!” Kendra cried. 

The spider shell ceased fighting with April and fell to the concrete. She exhaled exhausted. 

“You little—“ Kendra growled at Mizuki. “You ruined everything!” 

She zoomed at her and grabbed her by her armor. Mizuki yelped and continued to fight with Kendra while they floated in the air. 

Donnie got up and eyed his hover shell carefully. 

“Those rotors. The reason I never wear a jacket is that I’m terrified it would get caught in them,” he hugged the jacket that he is still wearing. 

“How ‘bout using a jacket to block those rotors?” April suggested, close to being agitated. 

“Exactly! Give me yours!” Donnie pointed his fingers like a gun at her.

“She’s talking about your own jacket!” Mizuki called down to him annoyed before avoiding a punch from Kendra. 

“Gah! You know, even though this whole thing was April’s fault, I guess it is up to me to solve it,” Donnie stood with pride. 

“Ooh, we are gonna have a talk!” April glowered at him. 

Donnie unzipped the jacket and rolled it up into a ball. He backed away and readied himself in a baseball pitcher position. He narrowed his eyes at Kendra, who is trying to attack Mizuki without the latter noticing. 

“Fare thee well, my synthetic darling,” he sighed and hugged the balled-up jacket close. “I hardly knew ye, but parting is such sweet—“

“Just do it!” April and Mizuki shouted at him in unison. 

“Okay,” he said. 

He threw the jacket at the rotors of the hover shell. 

Kendra was about to punch Mizuki again, but the sleeve of the jacket got caught in the rotor before the hover shell abruptly stopped working. The two girls screamed as they fell to the ground below them. 

Kendra bounced off a few boxes and dropped to the hard earth. Mizuki would have hit the concrete as well, but Donnie caught her in his arms in time and carried her steadily. 

He set her down just as the shredded remains of the jacket fluttered down around them. He raised his hands halfway to his chest and glanced up at the sky. 

Mizuki saw the disheartened look in his eyes and wrapped her arm around him. 

“Alas, a classic tale of a well-meaning loner who just couldn’t fit in with a band of well-dressed crooks,” Donnie said and lowered his arms. 

“It’s okay, Donnie,” April stepped next to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. “You’ll always be in the April O’Neil Dorky Pals for Life Club. No matter how stupid you dress.”

“And you will always be in my Honorary Warriors Club,” Mizuki added. 

“Thanks, girls,” Donnie smiled at them. 

Police sirens wailed for a distance but are getting closer to the alleyway. 

“Hey, you girls wanna help me get this stuff back to the lair?” Donnie asked and picked up his hover shell. 

“I say yes to you way too often,” April remarked and scooped up the spider shell. 

Mizuki took the last roboshell off Kendra, who is now waking up, and stopped to give one last glance at her. 

“Have fun trying to hack yourself out of prison,” Mizuki smirked at her before following behind Donnie and April. 

*****

A few days later...

Mizuki jumped in through the entry of the lair and landed with ease. A bag was wrapped around her shoulder. 

“Hey, guys,” she greeted the others. 

“Hey, Miz,” the brothers said. 

“Let me guess, Donnie’s in his work room?” She theorized. 

“You got it,” Leo answered. “Apparently, he’s been moping because his jacket got damaged.”

“I’ve noticed,” she nodded. “I’m gonna go talk to him for a bit.”

“Sounds great,” Mikey added. 

She smiled and strolled towards the headquarters belonging to the genius tech. She pulled out something from the bag before discarding it to the side. 

Mizuki peeked from outside the laboratory with her hands behind her back. She noticed Donnie sitting at his work desk and resting his head on the surface. 

She sighed deeply and knocked on the archway. 

Donnie perked up and saw her standing there with a calm little smile. 

“Come in,” he nodded. 

Mizuki stepped inside, her hands still behind her back. 

“Um…” she cleared her throat. “I wanted to say I’m sorry for what happened to the jacket.”

Donnie half-heartedly chuckled, still sitting on his chair. “It’s not your fault, Miz.”

His smile fell after a second. “But still, it was a pretty good jacket while it lasted.”

Mizuki bit her lip and stepped forward to where the soft-shell turtle is. She inhaled greatly and smiled warmly. 

“Well, if it makes you any better…” she paused and positioned her hands in front of her, holding the object she was hiding. 

Donnie raised an eyebrow when he noticed a box in purple wrapping paper and a lavender bow. 

“What the…? It’s not my birthday,” he pondered as he took the box gently from her palms. “Or Christmas? Unless it’s a surprise party…”

His eyes went big with terror and gaped at her. “Oh, don’t tell me you’re…”

“No, none of these,” Mizuki giggled, shaking her head. “Just open it.”

Donnie stared at her smiling features before he unwrapped it slowly. His eyes then sparkled when he saw the content hidden in the box. 

“Oh, what?!” He laughed in excitement. 

Mizuki stepped back a bit to let him jump out of his chair and pull out his gift, still smiling. 

“A new satin jacket!” He practically yelled. 

“I figured I’d find you a new one to replace the Purple Dragons jacket,” Mizuki explained. “Plus, you must have loved the original one a lot.”

Donnie took a moment to examine his new coat. The jacket was purple, just like the Purple Dragons coat-wear, except it had his name written in cursive in the back. 

“So soft and silky, the same way,” he cuddled it close to his face. “I’ll never let it go.”

Mizuki giggled at his wonder and giddiness. “I’m really glad you like it, Donnie—“

Donnie instantly trapped her in a hug, his arms around her and his hand still gripping the new jacket. She gasped in surprise the second he pulled her in. 

“Thank you so much, Mizzy,” he said to her, beaming with a few tears. “I’m so glad to have someone like you.”

Mizuki smiled and hugged him back. “Of course, Donnie.”

From outside the lab, the other three brothers watched the two embrace one another. 

Mikey took a picture of them, his eyes sparkling lovingly at them. Leo smirked at them, his arms folded across his chest. Raph almost cried at the sight of his brother and Mizuki.


	23. Pizza Pit

'It all started with a scratch. The moon was full like a big pie of pizza, and that can only mean one thing...'

Banners with the words ‘Pizza Week’ was hungover New York, as people ate slices of their favorite pizza indoors and outdoors. 

'Pizza Week. The seven days where everyone can enjoy time with their loved ones by chatting over a large pie one of the famous Italian dishes.' 

'But no one was more excited for this week than my friends and trusted warriors...' 

“Pizza Week...” 

“Pizza Week...”

“Pizza Week...”

“Pizza Week...”

“Pizza Week!” The turtles each sang as they jumped onto the roof of a building. 

Mizuki stood by Donnie with her arms folded and a playful eyebrow raised at them. 

“And...scene,” Donnie smiled. 

“Everybody, set your stomach to ‘I’m not stopping till I explode’ mode,” Raph declared. “It’s time we get our pizza on!” 

“Get ready for the delicious flavors and complex emotions of our first stop, and my personal favorite,” Mikey gestured to himself before aiming his finger at his favorite pizza restaurant. “Lou Mike-Toney’s Pizzaaaa...”

Just as he was pointing at it, the pizza place disappeared in the blink of an eye. 

“Nooooooo!” He cried. 

“Where’d it go?” Raph pondered. 

“Oh, I think it’s closed,” Leo suggested. 

“Closed? How can it be closed when it disappeared out of nowhere?” Mizuki raised an eyebrow at him. 

“My phone says it’s open till 10:00,” Donnie stared at his phone. 

“Who would do this?” Mikey cried in despair. “Why, Pizza Supreme in the Sky? Why do you test us like this?”

Crickets chirped in the background as the other turtles and Mizuki said nothing. 

“Why aren’t you guys more upset?” He glared at them. 

“Oh, man...” 

“What a tragedy.”

“That just...hurts me.”

“It will be missed.”

“Uh, I’m very sad,” Donnie nonchalantly said. 

“You didn’t like Lou Mike-Toney’s?” Mikey glowered. 

“Yeah, I got a bug once, and that was really it for me,” Donnie put an arm around the younger turtle, who sobbed for the loss of his favorite pizza place. 

“Okay, now that we’ve all moved on,” Donnie then grinned. “Let’s get us some of my favorite...”

“Tony Lou’s pizza!” He gestured to his own beloved pizza place. 

Like Mikey’s, it disappeared on its own. 

“Oh, no, no, no! No!” Both Mikey and Donnie screamed, triggered from the sudden disappearance. 

“I only pretended to care when it happened to Mikey’s favorite place,” the soft-shell turtle wailed. “But now that it’s happened to me, I hurt.”

“Both our favorites were sink-holed!” Mikey hugged him as he cried. “This is the worst Pizza Week ever!” 

Mizuki felt bad for the two brothers. She understood how much they love their respective pizza places. 

“To lose one pizza place is just New York real estate,” Donnie said. “But to lose two pizza places is...”

*****

“A conspiracy that goes all the way to the top!” He finished, gesturing to a photo of Lou Mike’s Pizza on a conspiracy board. “What do Lou Mike-Toney’s and Tony Lou’s pizzerias have in common?” 

He stood in front of a conspiracy board back in the Turtle Tank, with Raph, Leo and Mizuki sitting in front of him. Mikey gripped a blanket close to him while shaking from his loss.

“Besides both being pizza places?” Leo suggested. 

Mizuki took a bowl of ice cream from the soft serve machine and handed it to Mikey. He took it gently from her and ate it with a spoon while she rubbed his shoulder. 

“Not even soft serve can keep me happy,” he softly sobbed. 

“I understand your pain, Mikey,” Mizuki soothed him. 

“Exactly!” Donnie pointed at Leo and walked to the other side of the board. “They are both pizza places. But not just any pizza places. Two of our favorite pizza places.”

“And what’s the key thing they have in common?” He walked back to his original spot and pointed the stick at Raph. 

“Uh...besides having the same name but in different order?” The snapping turtle raised an eyebrow. 

“Do you think that’s important?” Donnie asked, hastily writing on a notebook. 

“No,” Leo and Mizuki both said. 

“Whatever! It’s us,” Donnie threw away the paper before gesturing to themselves in different versions. 

“We are the link between all these places,” he then aimed the stick at the missing pizza places that are circled. 

“Ergo, whoever’s behind this isn’t only after pizza,” he typed on the computer furiously. “They’re after us. And clearly, we all know that it’s Pizzasaurus, the evil spawn of the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot! It’s taking over Pizza Week!” 

Leo and Mizuki quickly held him so he would calm down. 

“Pizzasaurus? We’ve been over this,” Leo argued. “None of those things are real.”

“And I know those places are your and Mikey’s favorite, but this is no reason to get upset,” Mizuki reasoned. 

“Calm down!” Raph interjected. “Everything’s gonna be fine. We just need to eat. So let’s get to the next place as fast as possible.”

“To the Shell Hogs!” He pulled a lever down, releasing the Shell Hogs. 

With Mizuki sitting behind Donnie and Leo, the teens drove over to the next pizza place that hopefully isn’t destroyed. 

“Let’s get our pizza on!” Raph cheered. 

'If only life were that simple.' 

*****

They soon arrived at Leo’s favorite pizza restaurant, still standing and not attacked at the moment. 

“Thank the Pizza Supreme In The Sky!” Leo sighed contently. “My favorite place—Mike-Tony’s Favorite Lou Pizza—is still here.”

“See? Everything’s fine,” Raph smiled. 

Screaming abruptly interrupted the moment. 

'Everything was not fine.'

Patrons ran out of the pizzeria in panic. A trio of mutants walked out, one of them holding the chef. She let him go and he ran off. 

A mutant groundhog, badger and dog pretended to play as if they were in a band. 

The leader mutant dog has blonde hair, ear piercings, and red lipstick and is wearing a white shirt with a black vest, red plaid skirt and black leggings. The mutant groundhog has pink hair and is wearing a black outfit. The mutant badger is wearing a black and blue outfit. 

“These must be the creatures destroying our pizza places!” Donnie gestured to them. 

“It’s the Man!” The leader exclaimed. “Let’s blow this joint before it kills our vibe!” 

“Is that the same as dig? I love digging!” The mutant groundhog said. “Ooh, I’m gonna dig, dig, dig!”

The mutants instantly dug down in front of the pizza place. 

“Hey!” Raph yelled. 

“After them!” Donnie pointed at where they had gone off to. 

The teens chased after the mutant trio through the hole they had made. They screamed as they fell through the hole. Mizuki clung onto Donnie, with her eyes closed tightly. 

“Why is this Pizza Week so hard?!” Raph shouted. 

They continued to fall until they landed on the floor of the hole. Driving around, they soon crashed through the wall. 

The band of mutants became shocked about their sudden entrance. 

“What the—“ Raph narrowed his eyes at the mutants groundhog and badger. “It’s them!” 

The groundhog blew a raspberry at them before she dug through the wall on the right, while the badger went in the left. 

“You guys take the ones on the right,” Raph ordered Donnie and Leo. “We’ll go left.”

“I’m gonna go after their leader!” Mizuki shouted. 

She hopped off the motorbike and ran as fast as her legs can make it. 

“Mizuki, wait!” Donnie called to her. 

She didn’t listen as she ran straight to where the leader could be. 

A few minutes later, Mizuki found her putting up large speakers around a pillar. 

“Alright, you! This party is over!” She yelled and ran towards her. 

Prairie Dog heard her and smirked darkly and jumped off the platform. Mizuki unfurled her fans and yelled out her battle cry. 

The mutant dog avoided her attack before she went to kick her in the face. Mizuki blocked it off and battled with her. 

The turtles crashed through the wall and barely held onto their rides. Leo sighed in relief before he gasped when he saw the speaker connected to the pole. 

“Oh, no, Mike-Toney’s!” He exclaimed. 

“She’s going to send a sound wave through that pillar and take out the whole building!” Donnie realized. 

Prairie Dog barely got plug up her guitar before she was attacked from behind by Mizuki. She kicked her away and jumped up on the platform. 

“Rock and roll!” She yelled.

Mizuki got back up and charged at her once more. 

“Sound check!” Prairie Dog stepped aside before kicking her off the platform. 

She grunted as she landed on the dirt in front of Donnie and Leo. 

“Punk rock!” Prairie Dog strummed her guitar loud enough for the speakers to explode out music. 

The pillar and underground began to shake from the old noise. 

Donnie jumped off the motorbike and helped Mizuki up. 

“So long, loser!” Prairie Dog laughed before spinning around and disappearing down through the earth. 

“Come here, you pesky digger!” Mizuki chased after her. 

“Mizuki, no!” Donnie shouted. 

She leaped through the hole the leader had made and disappeared. 

“Mizuki!” He went to go after her. 

Leo stopped him and pulled him onto the motorbike. “Forget about her! The place is falling apart! Let’s go!” 

The turtles sped off through the opening as the underground of the pizza place began to crumble apart. 

Finally, they jumped out through the entrance and skidded to a stop, just in time to see Mike-Toney’s slowly sink to the dirt. 

“Nooooooooo!”

“No, no, no—aaaahhhh!”

“Aaaaaahhhhh!”

“Mike Toney’s!” Leo wailed and fell to his knees. 

“Why do they have to tear down everything that’s beautiful in the world?!” Donnie screamed as he and Mikey hugged Leo, then realized when he remembered that Mizuki was not with them. “And Mizuki’s still down there with those diggers! She could be hurt, lost, or worse, both!”

'The truth is, Raph had no answers, just ideas.' 

“Boys, Pizza Week is not just a week,” Raph started. “It is a week about family coming together. It’s seven days of putting aside what makes us different and coming together as pizza lovers.”

“Does he think we don’t know what a week is?” Donnie asked the others. 

'Raph wasn’t sure they knew what a week was.' 

“Five weekdays and a weekend that culminate in me eating my favorite pizza in the whole, wide, crazy world,” Raph closed his eyes, smiling. 

“Does he know that those mutants are on their way to sinkhole Mike and Lou: The Brothers Tony Pizza?” Leo asked next. 

“Huh—Say what now?” Raph’s smile fell. 

“Didn’t you hear those mutants say, ‘Three down, one to go’?” Leo raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Yeah, but they could be talking about anything,” Raph chuckled nervously. “Ha. Right?” 

No one answered.

“Right?!” He yelled, his eye twitching. 

*****

As carefully as she could, Mizuki climbed down the wall until she reached the ground. She jumped off and quietly walked towards the band’s chattering. 

For what seemed like forever, she had been following those mutants without them noticing a thing. 

But she wasn’t going to let them out of her sight yet. 

She swiftly hid behind a rock and peeked over the boulder. 

The mutants are connecting and putting speakers near a different pillar. 

“They’re gonna destroy Raph’s favorite pizza place,” Mizuki whispered. 

She gripped her fans in a firm grasp. “Not going to happen.”

Quietly hiding behind another boulder, she glanced over it to find them almost finished. 

She narrowed her eyes in determination and exhaled deeply. 

She instantly leaped over the boulder and charged at them. The mutants turned around when they heard her cry out in anger. 

“I’ve got you now, you trouble-making—“ Mizuki was interrupted when the ground below her gave way. 

She yelped and nearly tripped before her leg was stuck halfway down the earth. Groundhog jumped out from the dirt and laughed. 

“Right, I forgot,” the blue-haired girl rolled her eyes. “You guys can dig pretty well.”

“Hey, what we have here?” Prairie Dog chuckled and grabbed her by the front of her armor. “It’s one of the Man’s good friends.”

“Alright, you dig-loving mutants, what’s the big idea taking down those pizza places?” Mizuki demanded. 

“Who cares about pizza?” Prairie Dog raised an eyebrow at her. “We’re an under-appreciated band.”

“That is destroying my friends’ favorite places!” Mizuki countered. 

“Why are you so focused on the pizza? We’re taking out the pillars.”

“Pillars?” Mizuki asked. 

She saw the last pillar with the speakers surrounding it before turning back to the leader. 

“Wait, so if you weren’t trying to ruin Pizza Week,” she pondered to the mutant band. “Then what in the world were you doing?” 

“Once we take out this last support pillar,” Prairie Dog smirked. “The Kaufman Coliseum will sink down giving us a captive audience to rock out for.”

Mizuki thought about the pizza places, the turtles’ respective favorites, on Donnie’s conspiracy board, before she instantly realized. 

“You mean to tell me you don’t have anything against me and my friends, but you wanted to let everyone know about your band?” She questioned the band. 

A loud booming noise interrupted them. 

The turtles all jumped off the large drill and pulled out their weapons. 

“Can we fight ‘em with the drill?” Raph asked. 

“No, it would be far too effective,” Donnie replied. 

He pressed a button on his arm device, and the drill exploded behind them. 

“Your personal vendetta against us is over!” He growled at the mutants. 

“What are you idiots talking about?” Prairie Dog asked. “We’ve never met you before today.”

Raph chuckled at her comment. “Sure. Attack!” 

The turtles yelled and charged at the mutants. Honey Badger jumped in front of the others and snarled at them. 

The brothers screamed and ran around, trying to avoid her attacks. 

Soon, the whole underground was in a frenzy. 

Mizuki rolled her eyes in annoyance. “This is not getting anywhere.”

She inhaled deeply and cupped her hands in front of her lips. “Everyone, shut up!” 

Her yell caught everyone’s attention, and they all stopped to look at her. 

“I want everyone to settle down and talk about this in a calm, orderly fashion,” she said. “First off, guys, they don’t have a grudge against us, neither do they really know us.”

“Then why are they ruining Pizza Week?” Leo asked her. 

“I will get to that in a moment, Leo,” Mizuki sternly told him. “They told me themselves. They were trying to get an audience so they could be appreciated.”

“Time out,” Raph held up his hand. 

“So you’re saying this isn’t a multilevel conspiracy that may or may not involved the mayor or Illuminati or enters around taking down our four favorite pizza places?!” He got angrier on the last sentence. 

“No. We don’t even like pizza, dude,” Prairie Dog added. 

“Unless pizza’s for digging!” Groundhog chortled before diving beneath the earth again. 

Mizuki yelped as her leg was released from the earth and got back up surprised. Groundhog got out from the dirt once more and laughed. 

Mikey came up from behind the mutants with a triggered expression. “So you’re saying that it only did you destroy everything I love in the world, but you didn’t even have the common courtesy to know you were doing it?!”

Raph held him back with one arm to prevent him from attacking the band. 

“Mikey, calm down. Take big, deep breaths,” Mizuki patted Mikey in the head as he thrashed in the snapping turtle’s grip. 

“So you guys just wanna play a gig?” Raph asked the band. 

“Yes! And gig rhymes with—“ Groundhog started. 

Mizuki gave a stern glance at her, and she closed her mouth. 

The blue-haired girl thought up of something, and her eyes lit up. 

She motioned for Raph to come closer. When he did, she whispered something in his ear. 

He lit up at the idea as well. 

*****

'As said before, Pizza Week is a magical time. It can bring families together...'

The owners of the previously destroyed pizza places had opened up a new pizza place, merging their names together. 

'It can create new beginnings...'

The DIGG band was also given the gig they wanted, and played their song to celebrate the grand opening. 

'It can make dreams come true.' 

On the window, Raph changed the ‘F’ minus lettering on their handmade health inspection paper to a ‘A’ plus. 

'And that’s how, for one week, or five weekdays and two weekend days, Pizza Week was saved...'

“By me,” Raph added his own two words in his handwriting on Mizuki’s journal. 

She had been writing down the events that had happened as the teens watched the grand opening of the new pizza place from a rooftop and ate their pizza in the early morning in peace. 

She giggled and shook her head playfully at Raph. 

They didn’t notice a giant Pizzasaurus strolling around the city and roaring.


	24. Smart Lair

Mizuki let out a loud terrified scream and backed up against the wall, her hand over her forehead in fake despair. 

“We are mummies. Give us your soul,” Mikey and Leo both said, creepily stalking towards her in a zombie motion. 

“Help me, Lou Jitsu!” Mizuki cried, still putting the back of her hand on her forehead. 

Donnie jumped from behind the chair, doing an air flip and laughing. He landed in front of her and spun his staff around with a heroic smirk. 

“Fear not, my lovely maiden,” he declared, wrapping his arm around her waist. “I shall protect you from these dastardly mummies.”

Mizuki stifled a giggle as she had her arms around his neck. 

“Oh, yeah!” Raph yelled from above, flying towards Leo and Mikey. “Who’s your daddy, mummies?”

“Oh, no,” the two said. 

Raph landed on them, causing them to grunt in pain. Mizuki gasped, covering her mouth with her one hand, as Donnie winced. 

He sighed and let go of her waist. “Man, I never get to be a mummy.”

“How about...” Mizuki walked up next to him. “You can be the mummy king who kidnaps the lovely maiden for her to be his bride, and perhaps Leo can be Lou Jitsu?”

“Mizzy’s not wrong,” Mikey wrapped an arm around Donnie. “Be a mummy—“

“If you can beat Tazan the mummy king!” The younger turtle gave him a noogie on the head. 

“Where do you think you five are going?” 

The teens turned to notice Splinter sitting on his chair with his arms folded. 

“A rooftop showing of the rare ‘Lou Jitsu Meets the Mummy Ninjas’!” Mikey punched the air like a hero. 

The three others groaned theatrically as Mizuki pretended to be the damsel in distress again. 

“Well, let me know how it is...”

They all looked at him. 

“After you see it some other time, because tonight, you all stay in and clean!” Splinter sternly said. 

“No! The classic pause followed by a rug-pull of our plans,” Donnie exclaimed, his hands on his head. “I hate those!” 

“Come on, Pops,” Leo said nonchalantly. “We cleaned last year.”

“Yeah,” Raph agreed. “Plus, it ain’t dirty.”

Mizuki studied the undeniably messy dining area, which is covered in moldy pizza and flies flying over them. 

“I highly doubt it,” she mumbled. 

“We should find the turtles who did that and get them to clean up,” Leo chuckled nervously. 

“Now we’re gonna miss the movie!” Mikey exclaimed. 

“Not necessarily,” Donnie piped up. “I may have a...”

“Please don’t say ‘fix’, bro,” Leo interjected. 

“A fix, bro,” Donnie finished. 

Leo groaned. “We’ll be here all night fixing your fix.”

“Scoff! Prepare to—“

“Uh-nuh-nuh-nuh! And don’t say ‘eateth thy words’,” Raph interrupted. 

“Eateth thy words!” Donnie finished again. 

“You always say that, but we never do,” Raph remarked, earning a glare from the genius tech turtle. 

Leo snatched his arm computer from his wrist and Donnie struggled to try and get it back from him. 

“Not amusing, Leo,” Donnie said, reaching for it. 

“Relax, bud,” Leo kicked the arm computer with his foot while patting Donnie on the head. “I’m just saving you from another epic fail. It’s all good.” 

Donnie managed to get his arm computer back and put it back on his arm. 

“Despite your juvenile antics and complete lack of faith,” he walked to the dirty table and typed on his arm device. “I give you all...”

A small robot appeared from the table and opened its eyes. 

“Shelldon!” 

“Good morrow, kind sirs and lady,” Shelldon greeted. 

“Uh-oh,” Leo said. 

“Shelldon is our automated smart lair,” Donnie clapped his hands twice. 

Cleaning supplies popped down from the ceiling and mini vacuums rode out through the walls. They began picking up the mess that the turtles had left behind. 

“Here to make our lives comfy, cozy, and completely free of menial chores,” Donnie finished. 

The dining area, living room, and the whole place was now cleaned and sparkling from the work. The teens stared at the cleaned place in complete astonishment. 

“Applause. And applause,” Donnie bowed a few times. “And waiting for your applause.”

The other turtles and Mizuki clapped and cheered impressed. 

“Gnarly!” 

“Great job, bro!” 

“Incredible!” 

“Okay,” Splinter said, slightly amazed. “But what can he do for me?” 

“With my help, snacks are only a split second away,” Shelldon replied. 

The chair Splinter was sitting on spun around in an instant. 

“Hey! No, no, no, no!”

The seat then whirled around fast until the rat mutant was shot out from the cushion and sped past the teens. 

A tray carrying different kinds of snacks appeared from the wall, and Splinter grabbed them before he was shot back to his seat. 

“Whoo-hoo! I never have to use my legs again,” Splinter said. “Good job, Purple.”

“Allow me to tidy up, lady and gentlemen,” Shelldon added. “And if you’d like, I could play that Lou Jitsu movie for you now.”

The TV screen turned on to reveal the Lou Jitsu mummy movie. 

“Whoa!” 

“Oh, yeah!” 

A tray of snacks appeared in front of them like the one on the wall.

“Dude!” 

“What?” 

“Shelldon’s crushing it, Donnie!” Raph exclaimed. 

A large beanbag chair was set out behind Mizuki as an arm haded her a bowl of popcorn. 

“Oh, thank you,” she smiled and sat down on the beanbag chair. “Such a gentleman.”

“What, Raphael?” Donnie said, his hand beside his ear. “I cannot hear you over over you eateth-ing thy words. Zing!” 

“Good one, sir,” Shelldon chuckled at his remark. 

*****

In the arcade, the brothers and Mizuki are hanging out, with Shelldon tagging along with them. 

“Oh, yeah!” Mikey exclaimed as he played against Donnie on the helicopter arcade games. 

Leo and Raph sighed with content as a tennis ball shooter aimed tennis balls at their shells. Mizuki stood next to Donnie and held onto his seat. 

“How ‘bout some music, Shelly, baby?” The snapping turtle asked the floating robot. 

Shelldon beeped and techno music played through his speakers. 

“Ugh! You got anything less ear-bleeding? This is awful!” Raph complained. 

“Correction: this is Master Donatello’s number one playlist,” Shelldon replied. 

“My fave songs to which I may jammy-jam,” Donnie smiled. 

“Great massage, bro,” Leo commented. “You know, this is your first non-boneheaded invention.”

Donnie frowned at his comment. 

Shelldon gasped and flew in front of Leo. “How dast you insult one as selfless and as pure as Master Donatello?” 

“What he said,” Donnie added. 

“Coollax,” Leo shrugged. “I’m just razzing him, bud.”

An arm lowered from the ceiling and gave Mizuki a purple water bottle. 

“Oh, thank you, Shelldon,” she acknowledged, though confused. “But I didn’t ask for any drinks.”

“Master Donatello just wanted to make sure you stay hydrated and well,” Shelldon told her. 

“Plus, I figured you could have my water bottle for now,” Donnie beamed at her. 

“Donnie, I appreciate it, but you didn’t have to,” Mizuki insisted. 

“Are we talking or ‘Crazy Copter’-ing?” Mikey smirked as he saw he is winning. “I’m laying a hurt on you here, bro!” 

“No, no-no-no-no. I will not be defeated!” Donnie frantically pressed his console sticks. 

Mikey’s seat suddenly launched the younger turtle backward, and Donnie smirked. 

Mizuki gasped in shock. “You okay, Mikey?” 

Mikey glared at Donnie as he leaned upside down against one of the arcade games. “What was that? Did Shelldon make my game glitch?” 

“I would never,” Shelldon denied. 

“He would never,” Donnie repeated, shaking his head. 

The game beeped with a high note, declaring Donnie as the winner. 

“Oh, look. I won the game,” he smirked before fist-bumping Shelldon. 

“That was completely uncalled for,” Mizuki sternly told him. 

“Nah, it’s called for,” he answered back. “A victory massage, please, Shelldon.”

He got up from his game seat and stood in front of Raph and Leo. The tennis ball shooter now shot out balls at his shell, and he groaned with ease. 

“Hey!” Leo complained. 

“Where’d my relax go?” Raph asked annoyed. 

“Oh, yeah, tennis balls massages are the best,” Donnie said. “Oh, yeah.”

“Hey! Did you program him to be your best bud or something?” Leo narrowed his eyes at him. 

“I would never!” The soft-shell turtle denied. 

“He would never,” Shelldon defended. 

“Please. Nothing is more important to me than the happiness and comfort of my brothers and friend,” Donnie added before he leaned upright and emitted the balls at Leo. 

He shouted in pain as the balls repeatedly hit him. Raph laughed until he was suddenly ambushed by the balls as well. 

Mizuki rolled her eyes and facepalmed herself. 

*****

Later on, the turtles, covered in bandages, and Mizuki walked down the hallway until they passed the kitchen. The boys sniffed the air and noticed a pile of pizza on the table. 

“Pizza!” They exclaimed. 

Mikey went to grab a slice, but a lone laser shot at his hand. 

He yelped and pulled back in a flash. “The vacuums have lasers?” 

The mini vacuums began to surround the teens. 

“Those are Master Donatello’s slices,” Shelldon said and hovered near him. “But he saved a few for Lady Mizuki.”

“Well, that’s kind of Donnie to offer me one, Shelldon,” Mizuki smiled politely at the floating robot head. “But I feel like the guys could have some, too.”

“Yeah,” Raph agreed. “And house rules: leftovers are fair game.”

He went to grab a slice as well, but one of the vacuums prevented him from doing so by shooting another laser at his hand. He yelped before eyeing them annoyed. 

“You asked for it,” he glared at the mini vacuums. “Boys.”

He and the other two turtles then kicked away the vacuums with ease. 

“Too easy,” Raph chuckled. “Computers aren’t so smart.”

Mizuki turned around and nearly gasped when she saw the vacuums flying on the wall and turning at them. 

“Uh...” she stuttered nervously. 

Leo and Mikey’s grins both fell from their faces.

The screaming brothers and Mizuki ran out of the kitchen as the vacuums fired lasers at them, barely hitting them in the process. 

They placed their hands on their knees to catch their breathes. Mizuki glowered at the vacuums, who backed away from her angered stare. 

“I’m starting to think this whole Shelldon smart lair thing is a scam,” Leo spoke to his brothers and Mizuki. “Donnie’s just getting at us for picking on him.”

“Never.”

The teens yelped and noticed Shelldon hovering over the microwave robot. 

“He’s too beautiful for that. I promise,” he continued. “I am here to serve you all—“

“Right after I deliver Master Donatello all the pizza.” The microwave bot held up a pizza box and carried it to Donnie’s headquarters. 

“Uh, the microwave flies?” Leo asked confused. 

“What?” Raph groaned. 

“A pizza butler?” Mikey glared at the two bots. “It is good to be Donnie.”

“Um, Shelldon?” Mizuki called to the robot head. 

“Yes, Lady Mizuki?” He faced her. 

“I’m afraid I’m going have to go back home, but tell Donnie I said thanks for leaving me a few slices, though,” she said. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“You have a good night, Lady Mizuki,” Shelldon bowed his head before heading towards Donnie’s room. 

“Are you guys sure you’ll be alright here tonight with Shelldon around?” She asked the three brothers. 

“With all this happening, but for your sake, we’ll try,” Raph answered. 

She nodded at his reply worriedly before she headed out towards the entrance of the lair. 

There was something Donnie had done against his own brothers with Shelldon. 

*****

Mizuki arrived back in the lair this morning, only to find Shelldon and the other machines still hovering around. She soon found the three brothers hanging out and laughing in the kitchen with burritos in their hands. 

“Morning, guys,” she greeted. 

“Hey, Mizzy!” They all welcomed her. 

“Hey, mornin’, dudette!” Shelldon hovered near her. “I hope your night of sleep was awesome!” 

“Uh, it’s fine,” Mizuki said uncertainly. “Shelldon, are you sure you’re alright?” 

She wanted to believe that there was something going on with Shelldon since she last saw him. He had a purple bandana on top of his head, and his voice sounded...strange. 

“Everything’s all rad, Miz!” Shelldon chuckled. “Ya want something for breakfast?” 

“No thanks, I already ate before I came here,” the violet-eyed girl shook her head. 

“Best brother ever!” Mikey cheered. 

At that moment, Donnie stepped inside with a proud grin. 

“I’ve always thought so,” he said, placing his hands on his hips. 

“Not you. Shelldon,” Mikey corrected himself. 

“Back at you, Mikey!” Shelldon added. “Too bad our buzzkill sixth wheel had to crash the party.”

“That is an unexpectedly harsh greeting,” Donnie was surprised at his retort. “Now, what is for brekkie today?” 

“Burritos!” Mikey held up his burrito, a few beans falling on his head. 

“Not my idea,” Mizuki mouthed to the soft-shell turtle. 

“Tempting, but my culinary needs are refined,” Donnie said. “One flavorless juice, Shelldon.”

“Fine! Ugh,” Shelldon groaned annoyed. 

A hand holding a blender came up at Donnie and a claw placed some ice cubes in there. 

“Flavorless juice is served.”

The blender started up without a top and splashed all over Donnie, who screamed in shock. 

The other three turtles laughed at the antic, while Mizuki became astonished at what is happening. 

“I demand to be cleansed immediately,” Donnie commanded. 

“Okeydokey,” Shelldon grinned. 

The water faucet turned on, but then aimed at Donnie and splashed water, knocking him at the wall. 

“No! No, no, no! This is not actually cleansing me!” 

The other teens, except Mizuki, laughed some more. 

“Uh-huh. No fun when Shelldon isn’t doing what you like, is it, D?” Mikey held onto his sides. 

“Shelldon, please stop! I think he’s cleaned enough!” Mizuki quickly ordered the robot head. 

“Alright, gal,” Shelldon chuckled. 

The water faucet turned off on its own and Donnie slid down against the wall. Mizuki’s grabbed a towel and rushed to him. 

“Are you okay, Donnie?” She helped him up and handed him the towel. 

“What have you rapscallions done?” Donnie demanded as he dried himself off with the towel. “Did you mess with his programming?” 

“We would never,” the guys denied together. 

“They would never,” Shelldon echoed. 

“Shelly, music,” Raph beamed. 

Instead of Donnie’s techno songs, a more relaxed beat played from the speakers. Mikey and Raph nodded their heads to the beat, while Leo moved around in a dance motion. 

“Okay, I’m confused here. What is going on?” Mizuki asked. 

“Check this out, dudes,” Shelldon interjected. “Come on, dance, Donnie, dance!” 

The vacuums surrounded Donnie and Mizuki. He was able to get her out of the way in time before they started firing lasers at his feet. 

“No! No, no! No lasers!” He yelled as he danced to avoid his feet getting hit. “And more importantly, turn off that music!” 

“Nice moves, Donnie,” Raph wiped a tear from his eye as he chuckled. 

“Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay!” Donnie shouted in protest.

“Uh, well played, Shelly, but you can stop now,” Raph said. 

“Sorry, R-Dawg,” Shelldon answered. “Party’s just getting started. As soon as I give Donnie the boot, us real bros can bro out.”

The lasers from the vacuums continued to be fired at Donnie more rapidly. 

“Shelldon, stop! That’s enough!” Mizuki yelled to the robot head. “You’re hurting him!” 

“That’s the point, Miz! I’m giving him a good time before he leaves!” Shelldon laughed. 

“Okay, that’s enough,” Leo growled. “Time to chill, Shelldon. Joke’s over.”

The turtles and Mizuki then kicked the vacuums away from Donnie as Mikey hugged the soft-shell turtle. 

“Come on, bros,” Shelldon said as the vacuums formed up behind him. “Just let me turn Donnie into turtle dust, and then I can be your fourth brother...”

A large vacuum towered over the teens, who whimpered with fear. 

“...So let me just finish him off. It’ll be excellent,” the robot head finished. 

“You three messed with his circuitry!” Donnie accused his brothers. 

“We would never!” They denied in unison. 

“They. Would. Never.” Shelldon repeated slowly. 

The turtles and Mizuki all screamed and ran out of the kitchen with the giant vacuum chasing behind them. 

However, since it was too big, it couldn’t fit through the door. 

The brothers and Mizuki both panted heavily in the skating area. 

“What did you guys do with Shelldon?” The blue-haired girl glared at the three other turtles. 

“We didn’t do anything,” Mikey lied. “Blame Donnie, he’s been picking on us with Shelldon.”

“How dare you accuse me of such a misdeed?” Donnie asked, shocked. 

“Hey, there you guys are,” Shelldon appeared behind them. 

“You can’t be our fourth brother,” Mikey retorted. 

Donnie stood in front of Mizuki protectively while glaring at his former best friend. 

“Beg to differ with you, bros,” Shelldon answered and flew up to the hole of the lair. “Like it or not, I’m in and Donnie’s out.”

As he said it, a large army of saws and knives covered the hole and lowered towards the teens. 

“Just admit it, Donnie. You made him favor you over us!” Raph glared at Donnie. 

“You made him try to vaporize me!” He argued back. 

“Can we all just talk about it later?!” Mizuki stepped in between the two. 

“Enough whining, Donnie!” Shelldon yelled. 

His weapons shot out at the five, who all dogged out of the way in time. 

“I love having brothers!” Shelldon laughed. 

“Punches!” Leo shouted. 

The turtles and Mizuki fended for themselves against the robot head’s weapons. 

“Awesome! This is like a fun game of tag, except with punches,” Shelldon seemed to be beaming with insanity. 

Claws came out and grabbed Raph, Leo and Mikey before slamming them against the wall. 

Donnie and Mizuki stared up at the robot head terrified. 

“Oh, no,” Donnie gasped before turning around. “No, no, no, no!” 

Claws came out from the floor and restrained him before pulling him down to the ground. 

“Donnie!” Mizuki went to help him, but another claw grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up.

She screamed and grunted as she attempted to fight her way out. 

“No!” Donnie saw her being held hostage and tried to break free. 

He was then lifted up in a lab table and tools used for surgery appeared. 

“Time to snip a branch off the family tree,” Shelldon declared.   
A saw started and gradually moved towards Donnie.

“If I am to perish, tell me the truth, brethren: you reprogrammed him,” Donnie said to the others. “I promise, no hard feelings.”

“Don’t fall for it,” Leo softly warned. 

“Just tell him already!” Mizuki shouted. 

“Okay, fine. We did,” Mikey admitted. 

“I knew it! Hard feelings! Massive hard feelings!” Donnie yelled. 

“Donnie!” Mizuki glanced at Donnie with a stern eyebrow. 

“Well, at least I shall go to my end knowing I was the better brother,” the tech genius sighed.

“No way. You totally programmed me to favor you and to help win Mizuki’s heart,” Shelldon told him. 

“I knew it!” Leo and Mikey exclaimed. 

Donnie shouted as the saw moved closer to his face. 

“Donnie! NO!” Mizuki cried. 

“Shelldon!” Raph yelled.   
The saw stopped as soon as he did. 

“No, stop! If you really wanna be our fourth brother, Shelly, fly your microwave butler on over,” Raph said nervously. “It’s burrito time.”

“Yeah, bro,” Mikey added. 

“That would so hit the spot, bro-ham,” Leo agreed. 

Shelldon eyed them suspiciously as they sweated greatly. 

Mizuki held her breath terrified at the tense moment. 

“Oh, why didn’t you say so, bud?” Shelldon said. “Burritos coming right up for my bros!”   
The microwave bot flew over to Raph and opened up to reveal a cooked burrito. 

Raph then grabbed the contraption and threw it at Shelldon. 

“Not cool, bro!” Shelldon shouted, just before the microwave robot made contact with him. 

The shock quickly shut him down and he exploded, the smoke surrounding the area. 

The turtles and Mizuki laid on the ground, the clutter of the remains of Shelldon surrounding them. 

“Donnie!” Mizuki hugged Donnie in a flash, prompting him to be taken aback by the action, though he hugged her back relieved. 

“Whoa! Man,” Raph exhaled. “What a day. Great invention, Donnie. Now you just gotta invent something to clean up all of Shelldon’s mess.”

The robot head, now nonfunctioning, fell near Raph. 

“This sounds like a job for Shelldon 2.0,” Donnie lit up. 

“No!” The others and Mizuki yelled. 

“Which will not play favorites,” Donnie quickly concluded. 

“What did you do?!” Splinter glowered at them from the side. You destroyed my detective microwave friend!” 

The broken microwave beeped before breaking apart. 

“We would never,” Raph, Leo and Mikey shook their heads. 

“They would never,” Donnie and Mizuki both said and stepped next to them.


	25. Hot Soup: The Game

The brothers watched an ad on Donnie’s tablet with interest and excitement but did not notice their friend entering the lair behind them. 

Donnie was staring at the screen until he felt a heavy weight rest on his shell. He blushed instantly but didn’t break his stature. 

The turtles continued to watch the commercial as Lou Jitsu in a construction worker outfit held out a game disc. 

They all gasped in wonder. 

“Lou Jitsu was in a video game?” Donnie inhaled. 

“We gotta get it. We gotta get it!” Mikey exclaimed. “Accessing world-wide inter-tubes.”

“Lou Jitsu has a video game?” Mizuki tilted her head at the tablet screen. 

“I know, right?” Donnie glanced up at her. 

“Here it is! Lou Jitsu’s ‘Hot Soup: the Game’ Montes Auction House. Buy it now!” Mikey found the video game and pressed the ‘Buy’ button, which changed to ‘Sold’.

“Oh, baby! We are the proud owners of one very old mint-condition copy of ‘Hot Soup: The Game’!” Mikey cheered. 

“Wait a minute, you bought it at an auction house?” Raph asked him skeptically before gesturing to his face. “How are we gonna pick it up with, uh, this whole situation?” 

“Oh, right,” Mikey realized and sagged. 

Mizuki pondered for a moment before she had an idea. 

“You guys don’t have to get it, because I’ll do it for you,” she stated. 

“What?!” Donnie was the one to be surprised this time. “By yourself?! Are you out of your warrior-style mind?” 

“I’m not a little child anymore, Donnie,” Mizuki retorted softly. “I’ve been trained to be stealthy, fast and strong. And I’ve been on solo missions all the time. This should be easy for me.”

Donnie thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Well, of course, you can go...”

Mizuki smiled softly at him. 

“...in maybe seven to ten years. Right now, it’s too dangerous for you.”

Her smile changed to an unconvinced frown. 

“I say we let her go, Don,” Leo added. “Raph went out on his own when he was Mikey’s age.”

“Yeah, but when I was his age, I was two years older,” Raph told him. 

“What is up with your math?” Leo asked unimpressed. 

“Raph, would you please talk some sense into these guys?” Donnie asked the snapping turtle. 

Raph pondered about Mizuki’s suggestion on her solo mission before he smiled at her. “She’s going to get the game, Donnie.”

“Really?! You’re gonna do that?!” Mikey squealed and hugged Mizuki tight. 

She giggled and patted his head. “Of course I will, Mikey.”

“Why not? She’s done stuff like this before, Donnie,” Raph shrugged and glanced at the pouting soft-shell turtle. 

“You got this, Miz,” Leo wrapped an arm over her shoulders. 

“Thank you for believing me,” Mizuki acknowledged them. 

“And as for you, Donnie, once I’m done with this mission, you’ll be worrying about me less often,” she called to Donnie as she backed away towards the entrance. “I’ll be back before you know it!”

“No, Mizzy, wait—“ Donnie tried to protest, but she was already gone. 

*****

She soon arrived at the Montes Auction House and landed safely on the roof. Pulling out the ticket Mikey had given her, she opened the window roof with ease. 

“Alright, should be a quick errand,” Mizuki told herself. “Just get in, grab the game and head back out.”

Jumping through the open window, she landed on the floor on her feet before standing upright. 

The interior of the auction house was dark, apart from the moonlight, as she expected. Various items, most on pedestals, stood frozen in place and untouched. 

“Why is Donnie constantly worried about me?” She mumbled as she walked around the place. “It’s not that big of a deal. I told him I’ve been trained since I was a kid to defend myself and such. He doesn’t need to worry about me all the time.”

“Who are you?” A voice abruptly demanded. 

Mizuki spun around in a flash and saw a girl close to her age. A red cloth covered her mouth, and her head is shown to be shaved. Her clothes are black and red, from what she could tell. 

“What are you doing here?” The girl pointed at her. 

“If you must know, I’m a customer here to pick up my friends’ Lou Jitsu video game,” Mizuki explained while studying her suspiciously. 

“Lou Jitsu?” The strange girl narrowed her eyes. 

“You like Lou Jitsu, I believe?” Mizuki raised a perplexed eyebrow. 

“Lou Jitsu!” The girl yelled before standing straight again. “Yes, ‘Punch Chowder’ is my favorite motion picture film movie.”

“I see,” Mizuki nodded uncertainly, then cleared her throat. “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I must be going, so—“

The strange girl stepped in front of her unexpectedly, still glaring at her. 

“The receipt,” she ordered. “Give it to me.”

“I wish I could,” Mizuki stated, now getting agitated. “But since you didn’t say please, I’m afraid I cannot do that.”

She moved around her, but the girl blocked her path once more. 

“Give it to me now!” She yelled. 

“You know I cannot tolerate such behavior as yours,” Mizuki warned her. 

“How dare you speak to me this way!” The girl said enraged. 

She then went to punch her, but Mizuki blocked off her hit before kicking her away. The strange girl landed against a couple of knight armors and grunted. 

“No wonder she was so demanding,” Mizuki realized. “A new Foot recruit. Can’t let her get her hands on the receipt.”

She pulled out the paper from her knapsack before rushing towards where the game could be. 

She hid behind an exhibit and looked around the corner to find if the Foot Recruit was following her. She sighed in relief until an ax hit the ground near her. 

Mizuki yelped and stepped away. “What the—“

“An enemy of the Foot must perish. You will not claim the artifact!” The Foot Recruit declared and went to swing at her with the ax. 

Mizuki yelled and backflipped away to safety. She ran down the hallway as the Foot Recruit continued to swing the ax at her. 

“Is this how you normally treat customers? Because if it is, I would like to speak to your manager about your behavior!” Mizuki remarked as she dodged the hits from the strange girl. 

She was able to avoid another attack before the Foot Recruit kicked her.

She grunted when she hit the wall and slid down. The Foot Recruit laughed and threw the ax at her. 

Mizuki saw a pedestal near her and used it as a shield. The top of the ax luckily hit the pedestal and not her. 

She exhaled and saw the video game she had been looking for. 

“The game!” She gasped. 

The Foot Recruit yelled and launched at her, knives unsheathing out from her gloves. Mizuki screamed and took the game off the stands before front flipping to the side. 

The strange girl stabbed the wall where Mizuki used to be and gasped when she saw the game in Mizuki’s hands. “Lou Jitsu. The artifact. Give it to me!”

“I’ve retrieved it first, and my friend owns it fair and square!” Mizuki argued, before dashing out through the hallway on her side. 

As she ran down the hallway, she placed the game in her knapsack and zipped it up in place. She was able to make it to the emergency door, only to find it locked. 

“Oh, no,” she mumbled. 

She then saw an open window on her side and leaped up to get out through it. 

Halfway through, however, she felt hands grab her by the ankles and try to pull her back in. She yelled and did everything she could to free herself from the Foot Recruit’s grip. 

Her cellphone rang in her other knapsack and she quickly pulled it out. 

“Hello?” She answered, trying to not sound like she was getting chased. 

“Hey, Mizzy. Uh, just checking in, making sure you’re, uh, okay,” Donnie said nonchalantly. “Everything okay? You’re okay, right?” 

“All’s well, Donnie,” Mizuki replied cooly. “I’ve got the game, but I’m having a hard time trying to leave—“

A scream from her lips cut her off and she was instantly pulled back in by force. 

“The artifact!” The Foot Recruit demanded, pinning her against the wall. “Where is it?!” 

Mizuki kicked her away from her and dashed out to find another exit. 

“What? Hey, who was that?” Donnie asked through the phone. 

Mizuki yelped when the Foot Recruit tried to attack her and landed back on the floor. 

“Just a pushy clerk,” she quickly answered. “She’s trying to sell me the extended warranty.”

“I’m not interested!” She pretended to argue with her ‘pushy clerk’. “I’m fine, Donnie. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

She was able to hang up on time before the Foot Recruit launched at her again. 

*****

“My overprotective crush sense is tingling,” Donnie softly said, so his brothers wouldn’t hear him. 

He typed on his arm computer as quick as he possibly could. “Let me load my ‘tap into every security camera in New York’ app.”

“Donnie, will you relax?” Raph rolled his eyes at him. “She said she could handle herself out there.”

“Raph’s not wrong,” Leo joined in. “She’s a tough girl. Plus, she’s right, you don’t have to worry about her all the time.”

“Yeah, she’s kicked Big Mama’s butt, she fended off the mutant silverfish, she helped us nail our music gig,” Mikey added. “There’s nothing she can’t do to get the game.”

“Alright, I’m in,” Donnie held up his hand to shush them. 

The three others leaned in next to him to see the footage. 

The screen popped up and showed Mizuki in the auction house looking around. 

“Oh, well, I guess she’s okay,” Donnie sighed relieved. 

Mizuki was then suddenly attacked by the Foot Recruit and backflipped away from her. 

“That’s it!” Donnie pushed Leo and Mikey aside with a worried and enraged expression. “Mizuki needs us!” 

He grabbed his three brothers with his robo arms and dragged them towards the exit. 

*****

The Foot Recruit swung her foot at Mizuki, who ducked down and jumped up to avoid being hit. 

She blocked off another hit but was instantly kicked in the stomach. Mizuki slid across the floor, the game falling out of her knapsack in the process. She saw the Foot Recruit pick it up before pulling out a spear from behind. 

“Alright, if that’s how you wanna play it,” Mizuki growled. 

She pulled out her fans, unfurling them, and held them in a battle stance. 

“You…can’t…hit…me!” The Foot Recruit bragged as she fought Mizuki with her spear. 

She knocked her against a statue of a cat with pink, white and brown colors, which she managed to catch it in time and place back. 

“Oh, an ice cream cat. Mikey would have loved it,” she silently gushed. 

“Knife throw!” The Foot Recruit laughed and threw a kunai at her. 

She ducked down, but the knife destroyed the statue in the process. 

Mizuki gasped horrified before glaring at the strange girl with fury. “How dare you!” 

She grabbed a blanket and threw it over her opponent, causing her to back up and pull it off. The Foot Recruit charged at her again, but Mizuki blocked off her hit once more. 

The spear connected with her arms and the two girls struggled to take the first hit. 

Mizuki grunted as the Foot Recruit pushed her down on the ground with her spear. Her knees hit the floor, her back nearly touching. 

“Now you will not leave this place until I’ve reduced you to ashes,” the Foot Recruit laughed evilly. 

Mizuki kicked her underneath her chin before snatching the game back. 

“Not going to let you take away my friends’ happiness and this game!” She declared. 

The Foot Recruit threw her spear at her again, but Mizuki hit it away with her fan before trapping it with her other weapon, which glowed electric green. 

The Foot Recruit stopped. 

Mizuki smirked and flipped the spear out of her hand, sending it flying at the wall. 

The mask-wearing girl kicked Mizuki in the stomach, and she accidentally let the game go again. 

The Foot Recruit caught it and grinned smugly underneath the mask. 

Mizuki groaned and got up from the ground, rubbing her sore body. She gasped when she noticed the Foot Recruit charging at her. 

“You’re finished, warrior scum!” She shouted. 

Mizuki’s eyes darted around for anything she can use to defend herself until they landed on a beach ball. She quickly picked it up and threw it at her opponent. 

The moment the Foot Recruit made contact with the ball, Mizuki did a front-flip and kicked it. Electric green bolts shot out from her foot as she hit it with all her might. 

The force of the movement sent the strange girl flying towards a harp and getting trapped in the strings. 

Mizuki gasped in amazement before she snapped out of her daze and strolled towards the trapped Foot Recruit. 

Mizuki took the game from the other girl’s hand and smirked smugly at her. 

“No!” The Foot Recruit growled. 

She reached out to take it back, but since she was trapped in the harp strings, she couldn’t. 

“Hah. And Donnie said I couldn’t do it on my own,” Mizuki laughed haughtily, flipping the game disc in the air before catching it. “Solo mission complete.”

The door behind her abruptly busted open and Donnie tackled her with a hard hug. She held onto the game while he hugged her close to him. 

“Mizuki! Are you okay? Did she hurt you? Where did she hit you?” He fired question after question while hastily examining her for any injuries. 

“Yay, you got the game!” Mikey cheered. 

“Donnie!” Mizuki shouted, loud enough for Donnie to stop asking questions. “I had it in my hands. I was literally ready to leave. What part of ‘I can handle this’ do you not understand?” 

She was busy lecturing him to notice the Foot Recruit cutting her way out of the harp strings. 

“Look, Mizzy—“ Donnie started. 

Mizuki cleared her throat and raised a stern eyebrow at him. Her arms are folded across her chest as she stared at him with a warning look. 

“Uh, I mean, Mizuki, I will open up my apology wallet and give you a big stack of…” Donnie tried to explain. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Leo interjected. “Mistakes were made. Lessons were learned. We got a video game to play, so vámanos, hermanos and amiga.”

The Foot Recruit laughed and threw her kunai at the brothers and Mizuki. The latter jumped out of the way in time before she saw the turtles taken down in less a minute. The game was back in her hands again. 

“Ha! Solo mission complete!” The Foot Recruit laughed. 

“You did not just defeat my friends like that!” Mizuki growled and started for her. 

A loud explosion and a strong force knocked the Foot Recruit down before Mizuki could even make the first attack, and the game fell to the floor. 

“We’re here to rescue you,” Foot Brute said, with his partner standing next to him. 

“No! I had it in my hands! I was literally ready to leave! What part of ‘I can handle this’ don’t you understand?!” The Foot Recruit angrily asked them. 

“Ha, she gets it!” Mizuki beamed. 

“Stay out of this, you little pip-squeak,” the Foot Brute barked at her. 

“Whoa, whose friend you calling a pip-squeak, toe head?” Raph slid up to the bigger man, narrowing his eyes at him. 

“Maybe you’re the pip-squeak,” the Foot Brute poked him in the chest. 

“I’ll protect you, Mizzy!” Raph yelled before tackling him. 

The Foot Lieutenant saw the game on the floor and picked it up. “Wait a minute. That is not the artifact we seek.”

“Wha—i—it’s the only Lou Jitsu thing here,” the Foot Recruit explained. 

“Well, then, your mission is a bust—“ the Lieutenant threw the game to the side as Raph and the Foot Brute fought in the background. “On a technicality, of course.”

“But don’t be discouraged,” he went on as he opened up his hands to reveal purple circles. ‘The road to success is paved with miles of failure.”

Slamming his hands together, he formed a portal. 

“I shall prove I am worthy next time!” The Foot Recruit quickly yelled, clenching her fists, before running towards the portal. 

“Yes, yes, I know,” the Lieutenant nodded his head. “Come. We’ll get a nice falafel.”

He followed behind the Foot Recruit, and the portal closed, leaving the Foot Brute to continue to fight off Raph. 

Mizuki found the game on the floor and picked it up to examine it. 

Through the fight between her and the strange girl, the game cartridge somehow made it through, to her surprise. 

“Here, Mikey,” she handed the game to Mikey. “I believe you are the proud owner of this.”

The younger turtle gasped, his eyes wide with excitement, and held up the game in the air. “Chop-socky violence, here we come!”

*****

Mikey placed the game on the console and picked up the controller, grinning. Mizuki and the others sat next to him. 

“Sure you don’t want first game, Mizzy?” He asked the young girl. 

Raph was covered in bandaged casts and groaned as Leo and Donnie laughed. 

“No, I’m good,” she replied, smiling back at Mikey. “For now, your happiness is the reward for the mission.”

“Aw, thank you,” the box turtle beamed at her sweetly. 

Mizuki still smiled at him in return. 

However, when he turned on the TV with the controller, the screen showed the graphics to be not like they had expected. 

“What? Lou Jitsu’s a beige rectangle?” Mikey raised a confused and unimpressed eyebrow. “This is a rip-off.”

“Whoa!” 

The turtles and Mizuki spun around and found Splinter pouring some tea in a cup. 

“'Lou Jitsu’s Hot Soup: The Game’?” He excitedly set down his cup and took the controller from Mikey. 

“Look at those realistic ripped abs,” Splinter remarked and began to play the game. “I will fight my way up to you, Boss Level!” 

Mizuki smiled at his excitement and leaned against Donnie. He blushed when she had leaned next to him and beamed gently down at her.


	26. The Evil League of Mutants

In a domed environment-like place, a little boy wildly looked around for any signs of danger while clutching his toy figure. He was close to tears and panting heavily since he had been running. 

Rustling came out from behind the bushes, and he gasped in terror, staring fearfully at the source. 

Nothing seemed to be coming out from the bushes in front of him. 

He sighed in relief for a second, until a thump appeared behind him. The young boy screamed in fright, only to be shushed softly by Mizuki. 

“It’s okay, there’s no need to be frightened,” she calmly told him. “We’re here to help.”

“We?” The boy asked her, tears about to flow out. 

“My friends and I,” she replied and picked him up. “Now hang on tight to me.”

The child nodded and clutched around her neck. She jumped up on a branch before bounding across the trees. 

Mizuki soon got to the entrance, where the boy’s mother ran up to them from a small crowd. 

“Thank you, miss. Thank you so much,” the mother tearfully said to her and hugged her now crying son.

“Just make sure no one else goes in,” Mizuki instructed a nearby police officer before rushing back into the domed environmental exhibits. 

The blue-haired girl looked around for any signs of the turtles until she heard loud thwacks and grunts from a good distance. 

She narrowed her eyes at the source and sped to it. 

She skidded to a stop in a clear area and studied the bushes and trees for the brothers. 

Mikey rolled out from one side of the bushes, followed by his brothers on different sides. 

She winced repeatedly as the brothers both got hit by strange looking objects. They rolled against one another and groaned from the painful hits. 

Mizuki jumped down from the trees with ease and sped over to them. 

“You guys okay?” She asked them. 

“Okay. So that did not go as planned,” Raph smiled sheepishly from his brothers’ unimpressed stares. 

“Maybe not the result you wanted, but the result I expected,” Donnie smirked, gesturing to himself. 

Mizuki picked up one of the objects from whoever, or whatever, attacked them. She studied it until she understood that it is a discarded claw. 

“We are getting our butts kicked on an everything level,” Raph got up. 

“We’ve gotta do something to help,” Donnie added. “They are scaring everyone out of the Bio-Dome. And you know what a fan I am of experiential learning.”

“I’ve already saved another life from here,” Mizuki reported. “Whoever or whatever they were, if they think they can go around terrorizing people like that, they’ve got us to deal with.”

“Come on, Raph. Think of something useful,” Raph muttered to himself. 

He grunted before Leo stepped up next to him, smirking. 

“I’m sorry, did you just say that out loud?” He asked him. 

Raph smirked sheepishly. 

Mikey popped up behind him and sniffed the air suspiciously. “Do you smell that?” 

The turtles and Mizuki sniffed the air as well, just before two large figures leaped out from the bushes behind them. 

“Ahh!” 

“Duck!” Donnie shouted. 

“More like crab,” Mikey remarked, using one of the crab hands as the others got out of the way. 

“Mikey!” Mizuki pulled him away in time. 

The two figures landed where Mikey used to be and laughed evilly. 

“Ho-ho-ho-ho. Step one of our plan: disrupt a school field trip,” one of them grinned darkly. 

“Step two: strike a pose,” another stated. 

The two crab mutants did a circus pose while beamed victoriously at their plan. They are both wearing gymnastics outfits, one without hair, and the other had blue locks. 

“Ha! We are nailing this introduction.”

“Come here, my little turtle,” the first one aimed his claw at the teens. “Let me pinch your cheeks.”

“How dare you take something as sweet as cheek pinching and make it menacing?” Mikey pointed at the crab mutants. 

“Taste my claw!” The first crab mutant shot out various claws at Mikey. 

Leo chuckled, stepping in front of the younger turtle, and swing his sword and made a portal. The claws went through the portal, which disappeared a second later. 

“Hang on. What’s going on?!” The other crab mutant asked confused. 

Leo made another portal in front of him and laughed victoriously. “Oh-hooo, yeah.”

The claws instantly appeared through the other side of the portal, hitting Leo in the face and knowing him down. 

The crab mutants laughed at him. 

“Leo!” Raph exclaimed. 

Leo groaned, covered in bruises from the sharp claws. 

Mikey stepped up next and swung his kusari-fundo at the crab mutants. The latter, however, jumped around while Mikey tried to catch them with his weapon. 

Eventually, he got tangled up in his kusari-fundo, also busied up like Leo. 

“Mikey!” Raph cried. 

Raph turned towards the crab mutants and growled. He jumped up on a vine and glared at them. 

“Be careful, Raph!” Mizuki called up to him. 

“Crackin’ like a boss!” Raph yelled and smashed his fists together. 

His fonta glowed red and shot out lightning bolts. He smirked and prepared himself to attack. 

The vine he was standing on suddenly broke, and he fell to the ground, grunting on impact. 

Mizuki gasped, covering her mouth. 

“Raph!” Donnie exclaimed. 

“Get ready to get ‘claw-berd’!” The first crab mutant laughed while lifting his partner in the air. 

Donnie narrowed his eyes with confidence and aimed his bo-staff at them. 

When he pressed a button, though, the bo-staff unexpectedly beeped, signifying a low battery. 

Donnie, in a state of shock, lowered the staff down in the earth and climbed on top fo Raph before pretending to be dead. The crab mutants stared at him perplexed. 

Mizuki rolled her eyes exasperated at the fallen brothers. 

“Can’t believe I’m about to do this myself, but then again, they leave me no choice,” she mumbled. 

She unfurled her fans from behind her and narrowed her eyes at the mutant brothers. 

“It’s five against two, and you don’t stand a cha—Wha—What is going on?” The second crab mutant was cut off when a portal underneath formed. 

They fell through it before the portal disappeared. 

Mizuki blinked astonished and turned at Leo, who was being stared at confused by the others. 

“That was not me,” he said. 

*****

Leo groaned as he leaned against the chair, with Mikey upside-down. Donnie sat on the other side, and Raph sat on the beanbag. Mizuki let out a long exhale and crisscrossed beside Donnie. 

She leaned her head on his shoulder, and Donnie did the same on her, his cheeks blushing a light pink. 

“We can’t keep failing only to luck out at the last second,” Raph said discouraged. “I know no one wants to hear it, but we need—“

“Don’t you dare say the T-word,” Mikey warned. 

“Training.”

They all groaned from the word. 

“What’s training gonna do for us?” Leo whined. “What we need is better mystic weapons. Does anyone wanna trade?”

“Mystic weapons or not, we need to get better at…everything,” Raph said and stepped up on the chair. “When I look around at this room, I see nothing but potential. Who’s ready to tap that potential, huh? Huh? Take it up a notch? You? Be the best of the best? Yeah?”

The turtles groaned, hesitant at the idea. 

“But who’s gonna train us?” Leo asked again. “Who’s gonna be our sensei?”

No one seemed to answer, until…

“Mizuki!” Raph gestured to her. 

She seemed surprised at him. “Me?”

“You said you could train us after we saved you from Draxum,” Raph told her. “You helped us out with controlling our mystic weapons, we could use some physical, fighting training. So whaddya say? Wanna help us get prepared?”

Mizuki thought about it, then shook her head reluctantly. "Train you guys for this? I don't know if I could possibly..."

“Yes, you can,” Raph encouraged. “If anyone can, it’s you. You’re a Mystic Protector.”

Mizuki pondered about his words. 

What he told her was true. 

She is a Mystic Protector like Jupiter first told her when she became a fine warrior of the rebellion. She made a promise to her that she would help take down Draxum, and she was going to keep it. 

“Well, that’s a challenging offer, I’ll admit,” she said, before smiling. “Alright, let’s do this.”

*****

In the skating area, the brothers stood in a single file line beside one another, their hands behind their backs as if they are soldiers. 

“I must warn you, the lessons I am about to teach you will be challenging, difficult, and above all, risky,” Mizuki instructed them. “But it will help your self-esteem, courage, and strength boost up at every second.”

“We’re willing to take that risk, Mizuki,” Raph said, beaming at her proudly. 

She smiled back at him and inhaled deeply. “First, we will focus on the first lesson…to be gentle and tough at the same time.”

“Uh, quick question, how can you be tough and gentle?” Mikey asked her. 

“I understand if it sounds funny to you, but the world, as well as you, is full of opposites,” she explained. “In order to be a warrior, a hero, you must bring it all into balance.”

“For example, earth, sky. Day, night. Sound, silence. Dark, light,” she went on. 

“A warrior alone is not enough against evil. Two working together is.”

Donnie and Leo are standing over a wire tied on both sides. Leo was standing over the tech genius with his hands clasping on the latter’s. They steadied themselves while trying not to fall off. 

“You must be hard like a rock, stand firm as an oak,” Mizuki said. “As fast as the blade of the sword, with quick thinking, never let the fear get to you.”

Raph hit the punching bag with his fonta, occasionally grunting. When he was about to hit it one last time, his weapon sparked red lightning bolts. 

The force of the last hit sent the punching bag slamming the wall, the fabric ripping open from the impact and sand falling out.

Raph and Mizuki gaped at the destroyed punching bag wide-eyed before he chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. Mizuki smirked up at him, her arms folded across her chest. 

Mikey and Donnie are surrounded by training dummies circling around them. 

The soft-shell turtle was the first to battle them. 

Unfolding his staff, he charged at one of the fighting dummies and slammed his weapon down on it. 

Another one of the dummies charged at him, but Donnie stepped out of the way in time before pressing a button on his staff, forming a hammer. 

Just as the dummy was about to charge at him again, he swung his hammer staff to the side, sending it hitting against the wall. 

Mikey grunted as he swung his kusari-fundo at the other two training models. The wire caught them and he pulled them towards him. He dodged them in time and cheered. 

“Alright, now what?” He excitedly asked Mizuki while making fighting poses. “Are we ready to go?” 

“Not exactly. You’re still out of balance,” she giggled and poked him gently by the arm. 

Mikey fell to the side and grunted. 

“You’re only halfway there, though.” 

A few minutes later, the brothers are standing in a tree pose while trying not to lose their balance. 

“Soft like a cloud, bending in the wind like bamboo,” Mizuki said. “Because you’re at peace, you know. And sometimes, it’s okay to be scared.”

Mikey was able to hold his stature for at least a minute before he suddenly leaned unintentionally. He knocked into Leo, then the rest. They yelled and landed on the floor, with Mizuki wincing at the impact. 

The turtles groaned and rubbed their heads, and Mikey chuckled nervously as he looked up at her, with the others looking at him deadpanned. 

The blue-haired girl shook her head, smiling. 

Throughout the day, the brothers passed the challenges Mizuki had planned out as part of the lesson. Occasionally, Donnie would take a quick look at her, who would glance back at him and beam softly at him, and gave the same smile at her. 

Leo saw him one of the times Donnie was looking at her and nudged him on the shoulders. 

The purple masked turtle glared at him before staring down at the floor, his cheeks blushed pure red like a rose. 

It wasn’t until the sun had set under the horizon and stars appeared that the brothers were already for out from a long day of training. But what came after the sweat and heavy breathing were the proud grins on their green faces. 

“I think you’re ready,” Mizuki stated with pride. 

*****

Bounding from another building roof, she landed safely on a different roof of a structure. Just as she was about to make another jump, her phone beeped in her knapsack. 

She pulled it out from there, only to raise a perplexed eyebrow at the message. 

“Dad knows that we were training yesterday,” the message from Donnie said. “We’ll let you know if we need you.”

‘Well, I was on my way there, but why not?’ She thought. 

“Will do,” she typed back. 

She leaned against the wall of the outside pathway and exhaled deeply. Sliding down to the ground, Mizuki took a moment to ponder about the training she had done with the brothers. 

They were getting the hang of it with the lesson Jupiter had given her on her first day of training...

“Mizuki!” Jupiter’s voice resonated from her phone. 

Mizuki jumped at the sudden appearance of the leader and regained her composure. 

Instead of a calm, relaxed expression, she saw a stern, unimpressed look in her eyes. 

“Jupiter,” Mizuki bowed her head respectfully. 

“You must come back to base immediately,” Jupiter explained. “The mutants you have encountered have disappeared over New York. None of our other Mystic Protectors could find them on the maps anymore. We must find and capture them all before any more chaos could be caused by them.”

Mizuki’s heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. “But—how?” 

“We do not know,” the leader replied. “But we need to find them as soon as possible.”

Mizuki nodded after a few seconds. “Alright, I’ll go call the turtles—“

“No need for that, Mizuki,” Jupiter cut her off. “We only want you to come back.”

The younger girl was astonished. “What? Why?” 

“The longer those turtles are taking to fight Draxum and those other mutants, the stronger that monster becomes.”

“That won’t be possible,” Mizuki reasoned. “I’ve been training them for hours yesterday, and I feel like they’re ready—“

“We will do fine without them,” Jupiter sternly interjected once more. “I’ll send out more Mystic Protectors to help you fight off Draxum and those mutants.”

“So what are you saying? You do not trust them?!” Mizuki asked angrily. 

“I am saying that you are starting to lose your focus on your mission,” Jupiter replied. “Those mutant turtles are obviously preventing you from completing it with their foolishness!” 

“I am staying focused on the mission! I care about them too much to let them get hurt! I trust them! And I am not going to leave them behind!” 

“You are becoming too unreasonable,” the leader sternly said. 

“They are my friends, and I am not going to abandon them when they need me the most! I know they can do this! Why can’t you just at least give them a chance?!”

“I have heard enough out of you about those mutants!” Jupiter shouted at her. “They are nothing more than untrained fools! They are not the heroes New York wanted out of them, from my perspective! You are one of the Mystic Protectors! And I expect you to act like one!” 

Mizuki stopped and blinked back tears. 

Did Jupiter just lose her faith in the turtles? Did she call them untrained fools? Just when they are starting to get the hang out of their magic weapons. 

They had done amazing well from fighting off the other mutants they came face to face with. They had done more than she thought. 

They worked together as brothers, as a family, a team. 

She sighed deeply, her eyebrows furrowing. 

“You want to replace me, go ahead, replace me,” Mizuki began, her voice raising every second. “I don’t care who will take my place! I don’t care if you want me gone because I care about some mutants! I will not abandon them, and that’s my decision! Something you should have respected and understood!” 

She closed the screen before more could be said from Jupiter. She hurriedly wiped the tears from her face as the words out of the leader’s mouth echoed over and over again in her head. 

The blue-haired girl wrapped her arms around herself and sobbed silently to herself, her sobs muffled underneath her arms. 

For what felt like hours, Mizuki stayed where she is, even as the sun disappeared behind the buildings. 

A bright light gradually floated near her. She looked up from her arms and wiped away the leftover tears from her cheeks. 

She studied it closer until it suddenly dawned on her in a second. 

“Oh, sh—“

The floating star instantly exploded in front of her. 

Then everything went black...

*****

She groaned as she came to and lifted her head up. 

Or at least she was able to lift it up before falling backward. 

She noticed that she was close to the floor below her, a few meters, she could theorize, before she let out a fearful, sudden scream. 

When she tried to move her arms and legs, she realized they are bound together in rope, which is tied to a pole on a stage. 

Mizuki frantically looked around, her eyes adjusting to the faint darkness. 

“Hello?!” She cried out of terror. “Help me, please! Somebody!” 

Pairs of sinister laughter surrounded her from the darkness of the unknown place. 

“Delightful for you to join us again, Mystic Protector,” a familiar dark voice resonated. 

Numerous figures stepped out from the blackness with dark smiles, a few of them laughing at her scared state. 

Mizuki’s eyes went big as saucers. “Oh, no...”

“I’ve waited a long time to smash you to bits, girly,” Repo Mantis evilly cackled at her. 

“Oh, she has such a fiery spirit, indeed,” Meats Sweats remarked. 

“Breaking news, you’re done for,” Warren Stone declared on Hypno-Potomus’s shoulder. 

“Should I use her in a water trick or saw in half?” Hypno-Potomus smirked darkly at the terrified girl. 

“Get ready to be ‘claw-bered’,” the first crab mutant brother said, while the second laughed. 

“Hello again, Mizuki,” Nova Cosmos smiled at her in a sinister way. “So kind of you to drop by.”

“Draxum,” Mizuki glared at the main mutant of the group. “I should have known you were behind this.”

“Do not call just by my name. Call me the leader of the Evil League of Mutants,” Draxum told her. 

“So what’s your plan now? Huh? You’re going to kill me?” The violet-eyed girl challenged them. 

“Kill you?” Hugin cackled on one side of Draxum’s shoulder, while Muninn shook his head giggling. “No, we’re not going to kill you. We’re using you to get to the turtles.”

Her skin paled, her eyes wide with shock and terror. “What?” 

“Don’t try to deny it, Mizuki,” Nova added. “You must be having those feelings for one of those mutant turtles. We believe using you as bait can bring them closer to us.”

“And at the right time, we will have them destroyed,” Draxum finished, followed by loud cackles from the mutant villains. 

Mizuki noticed someone behind him and blinked. “What the—? Todd?” 

Draxum turned around when she spoke, and sure enough, Todd was standing beside Hypno-Potamus and Repo. 

“Hey, Miz. How do you like my new friends?” Todd said naively. “They’re so serious. I’m like, ‘What?’, and they’re like, ‘Rrggh’, and I’m like...”

“Enough!” Draxum interrupted and stepped in front of him again. “Prepare your positions. They will be expecting her in here the moment they arrive.”

The Evil League of Mutants nodded before getting up on the stage and hiding behind the curtains. 

“Cosmos, do what you must to hide her,” Draxum then ordered the younger villain. 

“With pleasure,” Nova bowed his head obediently. 

He rolled his hands in the air, and stars flew around Mizuki’s body. At his silent order, they carried her outside the abandoned warehouse and left her hidden behind stacks of boxes behind the warehouse. 

‘Oh, God, Donnie, guys,’ she thought fearfully. ‘Where are you when I need you?’

It only had been close to ten minutes since she was taken to the abandoned warehouse, but for her, it seemed like an eternity. 

Mizuki tried to remember the lessons and training she had gone over herself back at the Mystic Base, to help keep the growing fear and solemness away. When it didn’t work, she then tried to think about the times she shared with the turtles, April, Splinter, even Donnie. 

She didn’t want to admit it, but she felt like she was starting to care about him. 

More like...romantically than a friend. 

Every time she was near him, her heart would beat faster than before, her cheeks would be more red and hot than the last time. He was there to make her smile wider than the other guys would when she was down, and she was there to listen patiently to him while he ranted about something that was ticking him off. 

He didn’t mind that she is a warrior from a rebellion, and she didn’t mind that he is a mutant turtle. 

‘Am I...really in love with Donnie?’ She pondered. 

A sudden, loud boom from the warehouse pulled her out of her thoughts. She gasped and looked over her shoulder far enough to see the turtles gliding across the ground. 

They then hit various buckets of fish and ladders and groaned in pain. 

Mizuki gasped in delight at the turtles’ arrival, but then remembered why they were led here as the Evil League of Mutants appeared behind the hole created from the explosion a moment later. 

“No!” She quietly cried. 

The bothers still didn’t move from their places as the League began to charge at them full speed. 

“Guys, get up! You gotta move!” She silently urged them from her forced hiding place. 

Raph suddenly pulled out a ladder, as well as the other turtles, and soon, they began to fight off the Evil League of Mutants. 

Donnie flipped a ladder around and fired the fish in a dumpster can at the charging mutants, who fell to the ground from the shots. 

Meats Sweats still kept running and swung his hammer at Raph, who blocked off the hits with his own ladder. 

Mizuki tried with everything she had to break herself free from the rope that had bonded her while occasionally peeking at the chaos. 

She really had to admit it, they’re getting better at fighting those mutants than they did before. 

One by one, the villainous mutants were defeated. She internally cheered them on as they took down their opponents with their ladders and fish. 

Nova was the last villain to deal with Donnie. 

The soft-shell turtle dodged his star attacks with his ladder and sometimes hit him back. When the star controller fell near where Mizuki is hidden, she took a chance to catch his attention. 

“Donnie!” She shouted at the top of her lungs. 

Donnie heard her frantic voice and found her behind the stacks of boxes. 

“Mizuki!” He shouted back. 

Nova suddenly swung his starry sword at him, but he avoided that in time and jumped away. 

Growling, Nova rolled his hands around, commanding his stars to take Mizuki and hold her up in the air. 

“One step closer, and I will take the light away from her,” he threatened. 

Donnie seemed terrified for her life until he glanced down at his ladder and smirked at an idea. 

“Actually, try one throw closer!” Donnie shouted before tossing his ladder in his direction. 

Nova was unable to avoid that in time, and the ladder knocked him over. The stars fell apart when he lost command, and Mizuki fell to the ground, screaming. 

Donnie jumped up and caught her in his arms safely. The two beamed at one another before he untied her with ease. 

“How did you guys do that?” She asked him. 

“Well, it took Dad’s training lesson to finally get the hang of it,” Donnie shrugged, smiling. 

“What is happening?” Draxum asked astonished. “How are they so good with fish and ladders?” 

“Hot soup!” The turtles, with Donnie holding Mizuki by the waist, all exclaimed as they fought off every one of the villains. 

Mizuki whooped as Donnie released her and slammed her foot against Nova’s cheek. Their hands clasped together again, Donnie spun her around while she kicked the star master in the face again and laughed. 

After smashing Nova in the head, she backflipped right into Donnie’s arms. 

“Pretty good, Donatello,” Mizuki smirked and spun him around. “Now it’s your turn!” 

Donnie punched Nova right underneath the chin one last time, sending him flying against the two crab brothers. 

“Ladderin’ like a boss!” Raph shouted. 

He threw his ladder, fully out, and slammed it against the members of the Evil League of Mutants. They flew straight into the sky and screamed, disappearing. 

“Yes!” Raph and Leo gave each other high-threes and bumped their chest victoriously.

Donnie lifted Mizuki up by the waist and twirled her around. She whooped and raised her arms in the air. 

“Well done, Mystic Protector!” He said. 

“Yes! Yes!” Mizuki clasped his face and hugged him. 

“Now that your minions are done,” Raph smirked at Draxum, his ladder over his shoulder. “Let’s tango, you sheep-looking—“

“When did you learn to fight like that?” Draxum interjected, staring at them amazed. 

“Oh. Only from the greatest action film star in history...” Raph beamed. 

“Lou Jitsu!” The turtles all raised their arms in the air together. 

“How could you morons possibly know Lou Jitsu?” Draxum asked them. 

“His movies. Are you a fan too?” Mikey asked back. 

“Gah. No. I knew Lou Jitsu,” Draxum grunted annoyed. “He was the greatest warrior in the Battle Nexus. His human DNA combined with my Ooze gave you life.”

Mizuki stopped, as well as the brothers. 

Raph dropped the ladder and fell to his knees and gazed down at his hands. “Say what? We have Lou Jitsu DNA?”

“You mean?” Mikey gasped. 

“Cowa-boy, am I speechless,” Leo said, shocked. 

“Of course. It all makes sense,” Donnie added and glanced at his hand. “Cool.”

“Yes, this is what I’ve been trying to tell you,” Draxum stepped towards the teens. “That you are destined for so much more.”

Raph got up, groaning, and only faced the ground and not the others. 

“Raph?” Mizuki asked him worriedly. 

He suddenly spun around with a giddy expression. “Omigosh. Lou Jitsu’s our dad!” 

The turtles jumped up and down while yelling excitedly. Mizuki and Draxum stared at them perplexed. 

“Oh, wow,” Mikey gasped, his eyes sparkling with admiration. “Leo, you kind of look like Lou Jitsu.”

“I always knew I felt famous,” Leo smirked. 

“Guys, guys, do I look like Lou Jitsu?” Raph quickly asked excitedly. 

“I totally see the resemblance,” Mikey remarked. 

“Mm-hmm, yep, I see it, too, yep,” Leo agreed. 

“Our connection to Lou Jitsu is not just emotional;” Donnie popped up and studied Raph’s arm with his goggles. “It’s biological.”

Mizuki didn’t know what to say as she watched the mutant turtles excitedly compare their looks to Lou Jitsu and believe that he’s their father. 

“Mizuki,” Draxum said to her. “At least be on my side to conquer the world.” 

She stopped where she stood before slowly turning to face him. “How do you know my name?” 

“How could I not? Your mother uttered that name, your name, before she disappeared by my hand along with her lover. You even have the spitting image of her.”

She felt like the world stopped. “What?” 

“Did you not know?” Draxum smirked sinisterly at her. “Your mother was once part of the Mystic Rebellion before your time. She was the strongest, bravest, beautiful warrior among the Mystic Protectors, just like you are at this moment.”

Mizuki eyed him, an eyebrow raised perplexed and devastated. 

“Three years passed, and she and her lover challenged me while my lab was close to shambles,” Draxum went on. “They were determined to keep my plans on dominating the human world with my mutant soldiers. But I disposed of them before they could even have the chance.”

“No...” Mizuki gasped, horrified. 

She fell to the ground on her knees, tears threatening to leave her eyes. “No...”

“They were weak against me,” Draxum smiled darkly. “But with you on my side, you will become more powerful than before.”

Mizuki took in what he had told her. 

Did her parents really die? They were missing because he killed them?

Her breathing was heavier than before, her heart beating against her chest. Her anger rising in her...

“NOOOOOOO!” She yelled at the top of her lungs. 

The ground shook and large cracks appeared unexpectedly underneath her. The turtles and Draxum stepped back surprised due to her rage. 

Mizuki stood up and stared at Draxum with fiery hatred in her eyes. They were no longer violet, but electric green. 

“Murderer!” She shouted at the mutant leader. “Murderer! I will never join your side! And I will never let you hurt any more innocent people in this world!” 

Draxum looked at her shook from her anger before he growled. 

“Very well,” he said, narrowing his eyes, and was lifted up by his vines. “If you five cannot see the true merit of your potential, then I have no further use for you.”

He cackled as his other vines surrounded the turtles and Mizuki. The blue-haired girl glowered at him with her electric green eyes and prepared herself to fight him. 

A portal instantly appeared behind him. 

“What the?” Draxum looked over his shoulder confused. 

He was pulled in by the force of the portal and yelled in terror. 

“Wait! We have so many more questions!” Raph shouted and went after him. 

The portal closed just before he could catch the mutant. 

“Leo!” Raph yelled. 

“I swear to Pizza Supreme in the Sky that wasn’t me,” Leo explained. “Like, I don’t even have my sword.”

“Well, if it wasn’t you, who was it?” Mikey pondered. 

Mizuki stared off at where Draxum had disappeared before the electric green orbs changed back to the color of violet. 

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she took in the apparent truth about her parents. She fell on her knees again and sobbed silently, her body shaking and her arms wrapped around herself. 

Donnie noticed her on the ground and became worried. “Mizzy?” 

He knelt down to her level beside her and placed his hand on her back. When she looked up to face him, his heart broke. 

She shook her head and leaned against his shoulder and covered her eyes with her hand in order to prevent more tears from spilling out. Donnie hugged her tenderly and rested his chin over her head. 

Leo, Raph, and Mikey watch the soft-shell turtle comfort Mizuki with solemn eyes before they understood they have to head back. 

*****

Donnie kept his arm wrapped around Mizuki’s waist while rubbing her arm with his other hand. The others walked beside them, trying to think up of something to break the silence. 

“Your parents?” Leo spoke up first. 

Mizuki shook her head in reply. 

Leo nodded, understanding, and stared back down at the road. “Look, I know I said we would help you find them if they’re still alive. We can always try that, even though Draxum told you they’re already gone.”

She looked up at him with surprised eyes and a hopeful smile. “Really?” 

“And that’s what we’re gonna do this time,” he nodded. 

She beamed at this softly before staring back down at the ground. 

For a moment, she nor the turtles didn’t say anything. Mizuki remembered something and looked up at Donnie. 

“Donnie,” she said. “That incident with Shelldon. Were you really trying to win my heart?” 

He tensed when she mentioned the time he had Shelldon programmed to favor him and sweated, a light blush across his face. 

A van suddenly stopped in front of the turtles and Mizuki. 

She yelped and nearly fell backward when it stopped in front of her, but Donnie caught her by the waist and pulled her up in time. 

“Hey! What’s the big idea, buddy?!” Leo yelled, shaking his fist at the driver window. 

A young boy with a dimple on the right side of his mouth and shaggy black hair smiled sheepishly as he rolled down the window. 

“Sorry about that,” he apologized. 

“Hunter?” Mizuki gasped, then realized. “But that means...”

The back of the van opened up. Jupiter and three more Mystic Protectors jumped out of the vehicle and sighed in relief when they saw Mizuki. 

“Mizuki!” Jupiter cried lightly. 

“Jupiter? Hallie?” The younger girl exclaimed surprised. 

“Hey, Miz,” The girl with long, wavy hair and grey eyes waved at her. “Sorry we came up on short notice.”

“Whoa,” the brothers gasped in wonder at their armors. 

“And are those the guys you’ve been telling me about?” Hallie asked, raising a flirtatious eyebrow at Leo. 

“Hallie, please, not a good time,” Mizuki mumbled before turning to Jupiter and the other Mystic Protectors. “What are you guys doing here?” 

“Whatcha think, Miz?” Hallie asked back. “We came here to find you.”

Mizuki was astonished, but she didn’t want to think about the real reason they were looking for her. 

“Wh-what are you trying to say?” She asked them. 

“I’m sorry. You are?” Leo intercepted. 

Jupiter bowed lightly to the brothers, as well as the other Mystic Protectors. “I am Jupiter, the leader of the Mystic Protectors. And I assume you’re the mutant turtles Mizuki has told us about?”

“Uh, yeah, that’s us,” Raph answered. “But why were you guys looking for Mizuki, exactly?” 

Jupiter saw the look of dread in Mizuki’s eyes and sighed. “I don’t want to take up your time, Mizuki...but we have to go find Draxum. We need you back.”

Her heart dropped. 

If she heads back to base, then that means leaving the turtles, her friends. 

“No. We need the turtles here with us,” Mizuki protested. “They can help us find him and defeat him.”

“This is not a suggestion, Mizuki,” Jupiter argued softly. “We’re heading back to base, and that’s final.”

The younger girl wanted to argue back, to protest that the turtles can still help them, but the stern look of the leader prevented her from trying to prove her point further. 

Mizuki exhaled with finality and turned around to face the brothers. They were also devastated and confused to see her go. 

As much as she wanted to go back with the Mystic Protectors, she couldn’t leave them behind. 

Her friends, April, Splinter, Yami. 

And Donnie. 

The turtle who treated her like she was one of them, who respected her and helped her through the hard times, when she did the same with him. When he saved her life various times, and she saved him back at other moments. 

And when they started having growing feelings for one another. 

But she knew she would have to leave them, find Draxum and stop him. 

“I’ll give you some time to say goodbye,” Jupiter softly said before jumping into the back of the van. 

Mizuki nodded her head without looking at the leader. Her eyes still focused on the solemn turtles, who looked between her and the Mystic Protectors in the vehicle. 

“I can’t stay here any longer,” Mizuki started. “I have to go back.”

“We know,” Raph said with a sad smile. “You’re a great friend, Miz. Always have been, always will be.”

Mizuki beamed back at him, trying her best not to cry. 

Raph engulfed her in a tender, big hug and sniffled. She hugged him back, closing her eyes tight to hold back the tears. 

When she pulled away from him, Mikey was the next one to stare at her with big eyes and a quivering bottom lip. 

“I’m gonna miss you so much!” He cried and wrapped his arms around her waist. 

She giggled through a sad smile and hugged him back. “I’m gonna miss you, too, Michelangelo.”

Leo gazed at Mizuki with a heartbroken, yet beaming face when she turned to look at him.

“I really wish I could come up with a joke for this,” he choked and sniffled. “But this is too much.”

Mizuki chuckled silently and embraced him. “Never stop being funny, Leo.”

He hugged her back, his eyes huge with sadness. 

“Any time now, Mizuki!” Hunter called, only to be met by Jupiter’s stern looks. 

Mizuki turned to the purple-masked turtle. Unlike his brothers, he wasn’t about to cry, yet his eyes were showing that he is heartbroken. 

“Donnie…” Mizuki faltered when she tried to say something. 

When she had nothing to say, she sighed and stared down at the ground. 

“I don’t know if we can see each other again, or if there’s a possible good chance we do,” Donnie started. “But I wanted to tell you this for a long time since we first met.”

Mizuki looked up at him with eyes about to be teary. 

“Mizzy, you’ve been a brave, young warrior from the start,” he went on. “You’ve helped us in many ways, and we did the same with you.”

“And I’m really grateful for that, Donnie,” Mizuki added. 

“But for a while, I’ve…I’ve been having these feelings, romantic, actually,” Donnie continued. “And they’re for you. I’ve been that way, to be honest, for as long as I can remember.”  
Mizuki stared at him wide-eyed, her cheeks growing red. 

“The point is, Mizuki…I…I love you,” Donnie confessed. “I really love you. With all my heart. Not just as a warrior, as a human being, but you for you.”

The violet-eyed girl swore she felt her heart swell the moment he told her his true feelings for her. Her cheeks were hot and red as a rose. 

She opened her mouth to say something, but Hallie interrupted her from inside the van. 

“The base isn’t gonna wait for us, Mizzy!” She called. 

Mizuki turned from the van after glaring at her friend back to the soft-shell turtle and tried to keep a calm, content expression. 

“I…I’ll miss you, Donatello,” she sighed. “I’ll try and communicate with you and your brothers daily.”

Donnie seemed taken aback by the reply, but tried his best to keep a small grin as he nodded in answer. 

She then walked to the van, where Jupiter and the other Mystic Protectors are waiting for her. She took one last look at the purple-masked turtle before she closed the doors behind her. 

Donnie stood there with a heartbroken look, his brothers already heading for the manhole on the road. He sighed and started to follow behind them. 

Mizuki sat on the opposite side of Jupiter and Hallie and hugged herself with solemnness. 

She didn’t bother listening to what Hallie, Hunter and the other Mystic Protectors were saying. She thought about the times she shared with the turtles, April and Splinter.

The fun times, thrilling moments, parts where she fought off the evil mutants. 

And when she was spending time with Donnie. 

When she helped him and Mikey steal the Moon Buggy, when he had encouraged her to sing her heart out at Albeartoland, when she had given him a new jacket to replace the Purple Dragons one, back to when they first met. 

She never forgot the growing bond she had with him from the beginning. She didn’t want to forget it. 

She sighed and stared down at the floor of the van, still hugging her body. 

Jupiter saw the disheartened look in Mizuki and softened. 

“You love him, don’t you?” She asked her. 

Mizuki hesitated but nodded her head slowly. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she glanced down at the floor. 

She really wanted to go back and tell him how much she truly feels about him, but her place is here, among the brave warriors. She dedicated her life to stop Draxum at all costs. 

Now she had lost that chance. The chance to be with Donnie...

She turned back to where she left Donnie and his brothers through the windows. Her eyes continued to be filled with tears, red with heartbreak. 

“I had taught you that emotions can weaken yourself,” Jupiter said. “But it seems that your love for him and his brothers has given you strength.”

Mizuki stopped for a moment. She whipped around to face the older leader, who has a heartwarming smile on her face. 

“No one’s stopping you, Mizuki,” she said. “Go. Be with him. Your place will always be in our hearts.”

Mizuki beamed widely and gasped. She hugged Jupiter in a flash tightly. 

“Thank you,” she whispered. 

Jupiter returned the hug and stroked her head gently. Mizuki pulled away and stared at Jupiter one last time. 

“I’m gonna miss you,” she chuckled. “Take care of yourself, Mystic Protector.”

Mizuki quickly opened the doors of the back of the van. She jumped out from the vehicle and ran back to Donnie, who is about to jump through the hole. 

“Hey, uh, should I turn around to get her?” One of the Mystic Protectors asked. 

“No, let her go,” Jupiter answered. “She’ll come back whenever she feels like visiting us.”

Mizuki ran as fast as her legs can carry her, her breathing more heavy with every step she took. 

“Donnie!” She yelled to the purple bandana turtle. 

Donnie stopped when he heard her call to him. He turned around just in time as Mizuki tackled him in a hug and her lips smashed with his own. They both fell to the ground as she embraced him tightly. 

Donnie’s face turned red when he realized that she kissed him. 

Scratch that—is kissing him. 

Mizuki pulled away and giggled, tears streaming down her face. “I love you, too, you dorky genius.”

Donnie smiled at her and cupped her face. His lips connected with hers again, lasting longer than the last time. 

Donnie and Mizuki pulled away and beamed at one another, their cheeks red fully. 

A loud cough prompted them to turn to locate the source. 

Raph, Mikey, and Leo, who were poking out from the porthole when they saw Donnie hadn’t come down yet, smirked at the two. Leo wiggled his eyebrows at Donnie and chuckled. 

“If you’re ready to go, we’re here right now,” Raph said, his arms folded across his chest. 

Donnie and Mizuki both blushed before getting up and walking towards the others. 

*****

The turtles, with Donnie carrying Mizuki by the waist, landed into the skating area safely. Apart from Leo, they landed on their feet. 

“Land safely,” Leo groaned. 

Mizuki giggled while half-covering her mouth. 

She then noticed a chair sitting in the middle of the skating area. “Uh, guys?” 

“Hey, what’s Pop’s chair doing—“ Donnie began. 

A hand turned on the lights, and Splinter sat on the chair with his arms crossed and a stern look. 

The turtles and Mizuki yelped in fright. 

“Where have you been? I was worried,” Splinter lectured. “Didn’t I ground you?” 

“What? Grounded?” Mizuki glanced at Donnie, who smiled nervously. 

Leo gave Splinter a high-five. “Yeah. And you took away our weapons.”

“We’re really sorry,” Raph said, accidentally dropping Mikey. “And—but we learned a really big secret today, all right. We need—”

“Me first,” Splinter interjected, then rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Um, being a single parent is…um, uh—uh, what I wanted to…I—I—I did not mean to lose my temper earlier. It is just that sometimes as a father—“

Leo placed a finger in front of his mouth. “I can’t let you finish that awkward parenting speech when…Lou Jitsu is our father.” 

“Whuuuu?” Splinter gasped, shocked. 

“Boom. Mind-splosion.”

“Who told you?” Splinter exclaimed. “I mean, how did you—“ 

“What Leo means is, Lou Jitsu is our human DNA,” Donnie spoke up. 

“Well, then, I guess you know that I am in fact—“ Splinter started. 

Leo placed his hand on the rat mutant’s shoulder. “I know this is a lot to take in, but we just want you to know…”

“That regardless of where our DNA is from, you’re still our dad,” Mikey added, his palm resting under his chin. 

Donnie nodded in agreement. 

“And we’re sorry we didn’t listen to you, Dad,” Raph piped in. 

“Yeah, what they said,” Donnie remarked. 

Splinter looked at them with a raised eyebrow before he smiled warmly. “My sons.” 

“Group hug,” Raph took in and the turtles both hugged him. 

“I wonder where Lou Jitsu is now,” Mikey wondered. 

“Wherever he is, I bet he’s being awesome,” Leo answered. 

Splinter chuckled. 

Mizuki stood off in the side, her arms behind her back and a solemn, yet content expression. 

Donnie saw her standing there and smiled and lended his hand out to her. 

She looked down at his hand and took it before he pulled her in. She gasped in surprise and her face is squashed between Mikey’s cheek and Raph’s arm. 

She stared at them wide-eyed before she sighed with content and hugged the boys and Splinter. 

*****

She would have gone back to her hideout a moment ago, but the next morning, Splinter had asked to see her for a small chat. 

Perplexed about what he wanted to speak with her about, she reluctantly agreed and found him in the living room area. 

He was drinking his tea when she entered the living area, and he motioned for her to come forward. Mizuki did as she was told and stood in front of him. 

“You wanted to speak with me?” She asked him. 

“Of course,” Splinter nodded. “Red, Blue and Orange had told me about you and Purple.”

Mizuki felt her cheeks heat up at the mention of her and Donnie together. 

“Y-yes,” she nodded nonetheless. “What did they say?” 

“That you have feelings for each other? Romantically, I believe,” he raised an interested eyebrow at her. 

“For a short while now,” she replied, trying to stay calm. 

“I see,” he nodded. “He seemed really fond of you since he first came across you.”

“He is,” Mizuki agreed. 

She was trying her best to keep the red colors from returning to her cheeks as she thought about Donnie. 

“And they also told me that they have come up with a ship name for you two,” Splinter added. “Mizonnie? Or was it Doniki?” 

“Alright, alright! I think we must get back to the original topic!” Mizuki quickly waved her hands around, her face now pure red. 

Splinter chuckled at her flustered state. “Alright, calm yourself, Mizuki. Though those are good ship names…”

She glared at him through her blushing state before staring down at the ground. 

“Anyways, I understand how much Donnie cares about and loves you from the time you came to us,” Splinter went on. “And I will not judge you for your love for one another.”

Mizuki looked up at him surprised. “I’m sorry?” 

“He loves you for who you are, and you for him,” he smiled warmly at her. “So, I’ve come to accept you for that. If you’re the girl that makes him happy, then that is something I will respect.”

The blue-haired girl internally celebrated excitedly for his acceptance, but she kept calm and beamed softly back at him. 

“Thank you, Master Splinter,” she bowed her head at him. 

She went to leave, but he stopped her.

“There is something else I must tell you,” Splinter added. 

She turned around to look at him with a raised eyebrow. 

“But you must not tell the boys until the right time is here,” he told her. 

She saw the look in his eyes and nodded in understanding. “Of course.”

She stood back in front of Splinter as he prepared himself to tell her what he would’ve told the boys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, this took me a while to write that down! But at least it's worth it in the end. 
> 
> Anyway, now that Donnie and Mizuki are together, they are ready to go on new adventures together with Raph, Leo, and Mikey. With love, bravery, and teamwork, they're going to keep on protecting New York City and take on new and old enemies and come across new and old friends.


	27. Late Fee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is. The first chapter since 'The Evil League of Mutants', and it took me a while to write this down. 
> 
> More chapters will come soon.

9:00:00 p.m., 3 hours till midnight...

The Turtle Tank drove down to an empty mall center. 

“I’m calling it now, boys and girl,” Leo declared. “This will be our easiest mission ever.”

“Yes!” Raph sat in his driver’s seat and raised his arms up. 

“Dad said all we have to do is return this one Lou Jitsu DVD he rented for us—“ he pulled out a DVD case from his pocket. “Back to the video store before midnight, and he will give us all hugs.”

“Did he say he was going to throw in something?” Mizuki asked him. 

“No, I think we interrupted him at that point,” Raph replied. 

She shook her head smiling. 

Raph pulled the lever, stopping the Tank. The teens are wearing their outfits from the wrestling match long ago. Mizuki was dressed up in the same ballerina attire as well. 

“I forget,” Mikey asked. “What happens if we don’t return the DVD before midnight?”

“Then Splinter gets charged extra,” Donnie answered. “It’s called a...‘late fee’.”

“And not only that, you won’t get hugs from him?” Mizuki piped in. 

“That’s right,” he nodded. 

“Or was it zombie apocalypse?” Raph made a zombie motion. “I don’t remember, but we can’t afford either. Now, let’s return this DVD so we can go home and get hugs.”

“All right! Hugs!” 

“Ho-ho, yeah!”

The teens jumped down from the Tank and started for the empty mall. 

An uneasy feeling grew in Mizuki and she rubbed her arms to ease the nervousness. Donnie sensed her uncomfortableness and wrapped an arm around, holding her close. 

She beamed up at him in gratitude, and he smiled down at her before kissing her head. 

He had already calculated that they’ve been together for at least a while now, possibly around a month or so. But she believed that it was longer until she decided to let him theorize. 

Although he did not give any physical affection, apart from hugs and kisses, Donnie turned to an absolute, thoughtful sweetheart to Mizuki and vice versa. They decided to respect each other’s spaces and kept an eye on one other if something happened. 

Even though she was already gone from the Mystic Protector base around the time she was with Donnie, she still made it her mission to check up on the leader and her friends back on base as much often as she can. 

Donnie respected that, as he loved her for who she is, as well as she for him. 

The teens walked towards the mall, unknowing of a sign reading ‘Keep Out’. 

“Great call on the disguises, guys,” Leo commented. “They really help us blend in with all the people—“

They stopped when they notice that no one was around the empty mall. 

“Wait, where is everyone?” 

An explosion sent them flying and screaming. Construction buildings instant worked on the destroyed place. 

*****

The turtles and Mizuki, now covered in dirt and rubble from the explosion rode on the back of a ferry boat, with the Turtle Tank parked behind them. 

“That didn’t go so well,” Leo stated. “But on the upside, we get to ride the ferry to another DVD store!” 

“So we didn’t see all the ‘warning: demolition’ signs,” Raph said. “No biggie.” 

“Yeah,” Mikey leaned against a pole. “And my horoscope didn’t say anything about reading signs so—oh!” 

“What is it?” Mizuki turned around with a worried expression. 

“Wet paint?” Mikey checked on his back to find the back of his trench coat and wig in brown paint. 

“My horoscope betrayed me!” He fell on his knees in anguish. “We’re cursed! We’ll never return our DVD before midnight!” 

Donnie slid up to him on the floor and patted his shoulder. “Easy, Michael. Easy.”

He turned on his arm device and smirked. “Back in ancient times, early 2002, there were boxes, or ‘kiosks’, where you could rent and/or return DVDs, and I just plotted every one in New York to the Tank’s GPS, you’re welcome, so as soon as we dock—“ 

“We can finish our mission and go get Splinter’s warm and fuzzy hugs?” Mikey asked hopefully. 

“Yes! And the ferry’s just about ready to dock!” Raph pumped his fists in the air. 

“Hopefully, no more interruptions,” Mizuki added. 

“Easiest mission ever!” Leo high-three-ed Mikey. 

“Uh, folks, a, uh, movie production has the harbor, uhh, closed,” a voice in the ferry intercom announced. 

The ferry boat stopped just as the movie production filmed a scene with a monster on a building attraction. 

“New York. What a town,” Donnie remarked. 

The others and Mizuki gawked at the scene wide-eyed. 

“We’re stuck! Oh!” Mikey yelled and gripped his head. “Now I’ll never know if Splinter’s whiskers tickle!” 

“Don’t lose hope, Mikey,” Mizuki reassured him. “We just need to find another way around.”

Raph pointed at the shoreline of the city. “New plan! We swim to the nearest DVD kiosk.”

“Which is approximately 1.0 nautical miles that direction,” Donnie examined the closet DVD kiosk with his goggles. 

“Still a piece of cake,” Leo said as he jumped from the ferry into the water. 

Raph and Mikey jumped in the water with Leo. 

“How about a ride, milady?” Donnie smiled at Mizuki. 

“Love to,” she replied. 

His hovershell opened up, and she wrapped her arms under his shoulder before he flew off and followed his brothers in the water. 

*****

9:45:00 p.m., 2 hours, 15 minutes till midnight…

The teens walked down an alleyway, leading to where the DVD kiosk will be. 

“Okay, okay, okay, my turn,” Leo said, dribbling a basketball. “If Lou Jitsu and Jupiter Jim make a crossover movie, and that movie is a kid with pro basketball skills: that’s me, baby!” 

He shot the basketball in the air and Raph caught it in his hands. “Not bad, not bad. But look.”

He shot the ball back at Leo, who groaned from the hard hit and was unable to catch it. 

“The DVD kiosk!” Raph gestured to the DVD kiosk, which is surrounded by trash bags. 

“Ah, the sweet stink of victory,” Mikey inhaled the air and smiled. 

“Gentlemen, we clear the path to the return slot: we are home free,” Donnie stated. 

“Easiest. Mission. Ever.” Leo cracked his knuckles backward. 

He picked up a trash bag, only to find a mutant silverfish, which roared at them. 

The teens screamed panicked. 

The mutant silverfish grabbed at the kiosk while squealing at them. 

“No!” Raph yelled. “No, no, no, no, no! Bad mutant Silverfish!” 

The creature squawked to him annoyed. 

“Save the kiosk!” Donnie shouted. 

He, Mikey and Leo sprang up at it, only for the creature to smack them away hard. 

They landed on the ground, grunting in pain. 

“Raph-a-roni’s got a New York treat for ya…” Raph gripped the basketball and jumped up in the air. “Eat this, bug!” 

“Raph, wait!” Mizuki exclaimed. 

He threw it straight at the silverfish, red electric bolts zapping. 

The ball shot through the creature and hit the DVD kiosk, which exploded in the process. The separated silverfish screeched and skittered away. 

Mizuki and the others stared at the destroyed device wide-eyed and shocked. 

“Wha—oops. My bad,” Raph chuckled nervously. 

“It’s fine. We’re fine,” Leo shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s two hours before midnight, and Donnie said there’s tons of these DVD kiosks nearby.” 

“Right, Donnie baby?” He wrapped his arms around the still shocked Mikey and Donnie. 

*****

A man dressed up in a wizard costume stood in front of another DVD kiosk. The turtles and Mizuki hid on the roof of a building. 

“Phew, okay. There’s the next kiosk,” Donnie sighed. “Raph, if you would, please.”

Raph jumped off the roof, followed by the other teens, and walked to where the old man is putting in a DVD slowly. 

“Um, excuse me, sir—“ Raph started. 

“You shall not pass!” The old man raised his staff and held a stack of DVDs while glaring at the teens. 

“Oh, what a town,” Donnie remarked. 

“Ugh,” Raph facepalmed. “We don’t have time for this. Next!” 

*****

Throughout the night, the turtles and Mizuki searched through the city for any sign of an available kiosk. 

Luck was not on their side, and every time they managed to find one, something always happened. 

*****

11:00:00 p.m., one hour till midnight...

The teens finally stepped in front of a DVD kiosk, one that is not occupied by a wizard-dressed person or not destroyed. 

“Okay, here we are, boys and girl, with plenty of time to spare,” Leo said relieved. 

“Raph, if you would please do the honors and return our DVD,” Mikey smirked proudly. 

He and Leo stepped aside for the bigger turtle to pass. Raph reached into his pocket to take the DVD out, only for his face to fall. He looked inside and went pale. 

“Well, uh—“ he chuckled nervously. 

The others slowly zoomed in on him with raised eyebrows. 

“Hey, uh, have you guys seen—“

“Seriously?” They all yelled angrily. 

“Oh. Yeah,” Raph realized. “I left the DVD in the Tank where it’s safe…”

He then pointed at Donnie with an angry expression. “When Donnie made us swim across the harbor!” 

“Gasp! That was your idea!” Donnie pointed at him back. 

“Well, sometimes Raph’s ideas and mistakes are the same thing, all right?” 

“What were you thinking, Raph?!” Mizuki lectured him.

Leo and Mikey slid across the ground in front and behind Raph in despair. 

“This was supposed to be easy,” Leo groaned. 

“New, new plan,” Raph said. “It’s been a few hours, so I bet that ferry is back at the dock. Let’s go get our Tank and DVD.”

“The ferry’s too far, and we’re running out of time,” Mikey fell to the floor on his back and flew his arm over his eyes. “We’ll never get Splinter’s hugs.”

“In that case, for speed, efficiency, and fun, may I suggest New York’s most enjoyably unreliable and deliciously claustrophobic mode of transit?” Donnie zoomed in, his finger and thumb under his chin. 

He dramatically held his arms out just as a subway train sped past before slowing down to a stop. The doors then opened beside him. 

“The subway.”

“Ah.”

*****

The turtles and Mizuki stood in the subway car while trying their best to endure the problems. 

Mizuki saw a couple of guys in dark coats and wild hairstyles whistling and making creepy gestures at her. She huddled closer to Donnie, who glared at the creepy guys and wrapped a protective arm around her. 

“Whose hand is that? That’s a hand, right? Who is touching me?” Leo complained. 

“I feel like I can feel Dad’s hugs, and spoiler alert, they are plush,” Mikey was nuzzling his face against something fuzzy. 

His eyes went wide when he noticed the same wizard man from the DVD kiosk. 

“You have invaded the Dragonmaster’s personal space!” The wizard pointed at him dramatically. 

“Harbor Ferry, exit now,” the announcer said over the intercom. 

The subway came to a slow stop, and the doors opened once more. 

“New York, what a town,” Donnie sighed as he stepped off with his arm still around Mizuki. 

They didn’t notice someone following them with their eyes narrowed at them. 

*****

11:30:00 p.m., 30 minutes till midnight…

At the harbor, the turtles and Mizuki hopped down from the roof of the warehouse and stepped into the ferry boat. 

Raph and Leo got in the Turtle Tank and scavenged around for the DVD. 

“Okay, I’m up, I’m up. Ready?” Donnie said. “If Haley’s Comet and improvisational comedy had a kid with a mysterious superstar’s leather jacket: that’s me.”

As he was talking, Mikey saw a ‘1 DVD rental’ ticket lying on the ground. He knelt over to take a closer look before it was blown away by the wind and straight to a DVD kiosk. 

“A DVD kiosk!” He exclaimed. 

“Yes!” They all cheered. 

“My horoscope said I would point out the obvious today,” Mikey smirked victoriously. 

“Raph was parked next to this the whole time!” Donnie stated. 

Leo landed on the genius tech’s shoulder. “Relax. We’re here. We made it!” 

“And with a little time to spare!” Raph added, with his arms folded across the chest. “BRB with the DVD, B-R-O-Ses and Mizzy.” 

He then disappeared into the Tank to look for the DVD. 

“Hug! Hugs! Hugs! Hugs!” The other three turtles jumped up and down while hugging one another. 

Raph was gone inside the Tank for a moment before the vehicle suddenly moved all by itself. 

Mizuki saw the Tank move towards the kiosk and paled. “Uh, guys?” 

They heard her and screamed before rolling away. 

“Brake-brake-brake-brake! Brake!” They frantically shouted and waved their arms around, with Raph peeking at the top entrance. 

The Tank finally stopped and hit the kiosk, which fell over and blew DVDs out through the slot before powering down. 

Donnie touched the screen, with a few tears spilling from his eyes. 

“No!” He, Mikey and Leo shouted in despair, kneeling over the shutdown kiosk. 

“Oh, great. Can things get any worse than this?” Mizuki mumbled. 

“Peek-a-boo, tortugas!” A voice shouted. 

A man on a motorbike jumped over the tank and snatched the DVD out of Raph’s hand and skidded across the ground to a stop. 

“Ghostbear?” The teens gasped in shock. 

“Last time we met, you ruined my pro wrestling career!” Ghostbear pointed at them angrily. 

“That’s because you cheated in your past wrestling matches!” Mizuki accused him. 

“Shut it, you little brat!” Ghostbear retorted at her before smiling darkly. “Now, I will ruin what you love. Starting with your precious disc of video. Lou Jitsu movies are estúpido.” 

“You take that back!” Raph demanded. “Unless estúpido means ‘brilliant’!” 

“Um, that actually means ‘stupid’,” Mizuki stated to him. 

Ghostbear cackled and sped off with the DVD in his hand. 

“New, new-new plan. Tortoise and human get the bear,” Raph said determinedly. 

“Yes,” the others agreed. 

They got inside the Turtle Tank and flew right out of the ferry boat before riding into the city. They chased after Ghostbear to get back the DVD as soon as they can. 

“You tortugas can’t catch me!” Ghostbear claimed evilly.

He jumped over another man dressed in a wizard outfit on a carriage. 

“Why are there wizards in the middle of the street?” Leo exclaimed as he drove the vehicle. 

“It’s Wizard Con, baby!” Mikey replied. 

Leo pressed the pedal and steered around the people dressed up in wizard outfits on the streets. 

They soon drive into the tunnel and kept on speeding after Ghostbear. 

“Leo, Mikey, launch the Shell Hogs!” Raph commanded and pressed a button on the joystick. 

Leo and Mikey got on the Shell Hogs and drove behind the former wrestler, while Raph, Donnie, and Mizuki stayed inside the Tank. 

However, a figure stood in the middle of the road. 

“You shall not pass!” The same wizard from before pointed at them. 

“Ah!” Raph screamed and pulled the joystick on his seat. 

The Tank tried to slow down but flipped and crashed. 

“What in the world is up with this man?!” Mizuki shouted, rubbing the back of her head, and got up. 

“I can fix this. I can fix this,” Donnie frantically typed on the computer with his hands and rob arms. “I can totally fix this!”  
“Would be a better time for an idea, sweetie,” Mizuki anxiously reminded him. 

“Hey, Donnie,” Raph piped in. “If you got any more secret vehicles, now’s the time to be a good brother and boyfriend and share.”

“Uh, well, there is this one thing,” Donnie replied and a lever with the word ‘Taxi’ written on it opened up. “But I haven’t tested it yet, so…”

“Tests are easy. It’s answers that are hard,” Raph shrugged. 

“Well, now’s a good time to test it,” Mizuki answered quickly. 

“I love you guys so much. Let’s do it!” Donnie beamed and pressed the lever down. 

The taxi car powered up and hovered above the damaged Tank. It then instantly shot forward at lightning speed. 

11:45:00 p.m., 15 minutes till midnight…

Raph, Donnie, and Mizuki screamed as the purple loving turtle drove the taxi car. 

“Raph, Donnie, Mizzy, where are you guys?” Leo asked through the radio. 

“Coming in fast!” They all answered. 

They sped past the other two teens and Ghostbear and kept on speeding forward without stopping. 

“This is awesome!” Donnie screamed. 

“Where’d everybody go?!” Raph shouted. 

They kept on screaming as the taxi car sped out through the tunnel and into the sky above. 

The engine instantly stopped working, and the car fell down towards the earth. The teens screamed until they hit the ground with a thud. 

Donnie let out a deep exhale and leaned back against the seat. Mizuki breathed heavily, her bun now loose and in a frizzly state. Her eyes were wide with terror from the fast chase. 

“Two minutes to midnight, maidens,” Donnie checked his wrist as if he had on a watch. 

They heard Ghostbear laugh hysterically and saw him walking towards them. 

“You fell out of the sky like, ‘Wah!’!” He mimicked their screaming. “And ruined your little toy.” 

“You have no idea what we’ve been through tonight!” Raph added. “And on top of it all, you steal our DVD?!” 

“Is that any way to treat a fan?” He asked with a quivering bottom lip. 

“Here we go,” Leo rolled his eyes annoyed. 

“Groan,” Donnie said. 

“Nya-nya-nya,” Ghostbear waved the DVD in front of Raph’s face. “I can tell how much you want this DVD…for watching.” 

“Actually, we really need to return—“ Mikey was cut off when Mizuki placed her hand over his mouth. 

“What he was meaning to say is, we were about to watch the first scene of the movie, because we want to watch it so badly,” she lied to the former wrestler. 

“Yeah. Only the cruelest of villains would drop our DVD in that return slot over there,” Leo knelt on top of the taxi car and gestured to the DVD slot. “And then confirm that it did, in fact, drop all the way down.”

“Ooh. Foolish, tortugas!” Ghostbear smirked and glanced at the return slot. “Never reveal your weakness to an enemy.” 

He jumped over to the return slot and peeked through the thin hole before looking at the turtles and Mizuki with an evil grin. 

11:59:55…

11:59:56…

Ghostbear slowly started to place the DVD through the slot as the turtles nervously murmured. Mizuki silently prayed that they would make it in time. 

11:59:57…

11:59:58…

The DVD was almost through the slot. The turtles and Mizuki anxiously whined louder than before. 

Soon, the DVD fell through and landed with a clatter. 

11:59:59…

12:00:00 a.m.

The turtles and Mizuki instantly jumped out of the car just as Ghostbear laughed evilly and turned around, only to find them already gone. 

They can hear his cry of defeat from a good distance as they raced back to the lair. 

*****

The brothers stepped in front of the TV with wide grins of excitement, prompting Splinter to gasp in surprise. 

“We returned your DVD,” Raph reported. “And now you owe us…”

“Hugs! Hugs! Hugs!” The four brothers chanted with stars in their eyes. 

“It’s happening!” Donnie cried joyfully.

“Okay, you have earned…this!” Splinter said before he instantly clambered by the turtles. 

“Yeah!” They all cheered. 

They lied down on the floor and murmured happily. Mizuki giggled at the turtles’ giddiness. 

“I will never forget this feeling,” Mikey said, choked up. 

“I love all my sons,” Splinter smiled. “All five of you.”

Mizuki titled her head confused until she saw the wizard man entrapped in Raph’s arms. 

“New York. What a town!” Donnie said, strained. 

Mizuki wanted to speak up about the wizard man, but decided against it and let it slide for a while longer as she beamed down at them.


	28. Bullhop

Near the Battle Nexus Hotel, the turtles and Mizuki hid in the shadows while searching for their target. 

“Purple Rain, Crimson Love, do you see the target?” Raph asked through the comms. 

When no one answered, he called through them again. “Purple Rain? Crimson Love?” 

“Stand by,” Mizuki answered. 

Donnie pulled down his goggled and scanned through the empty streets. He zoomed in closer and found a bull mutant, the bellhop who got turned into a bull from before they encountered Big Mama, who is hiding in an alleyway. 

“As we pan across the asphalt savanna, we find the noble Bullhop,” Donnie said in a narration tone. “Survival in these cruel streets will require harnessing all of his fine-tuned natural instincts.”

The bellhop took a step forward, but then accidentally stepped onto a banana peel. He screamed and hit a car before landing on the trash. 

Mizuki winced at the painful landing. 

He groaned and shook his head. The car alarm suddenly went off, and lights turned as people clamored about the loud noises. 

“Oh, boy,” the bellhop said, standing petrified in a spotlight shining on him. 

He screamed nervously and hid back in the dumpster in the alleyway. 

“And the king of the vertical veldt will go hungry again—“

“Donnie!” Raph exclaimed through the comms, startling Donnie. “Quit messing around. Where is the target?”

“Why must you always put science on the back burner?” Donnie argued before sighing with annoyance. “Bullhop is in the alley by Big Mama’s hotel, ya happy?” 

The turtles and Mizuki jumped down from their hiding places as the humans inside finally settled down and found the bull mutant’s hiding place. They could hear him speaking to himself from outside the dumpster. 

Mizuki could feel her heart break for a moment. He didn’t seem to have much since the incident at the hotel

The bull mutant’s head popped through the curtain and was confused to see five figures standing in the shadows. 

“Uh, what?” 

Raph threw a bag over the bellhop, but he got up and clumsily ran around, trying to find a way out. 

“You’ll never take me!” He slipped on a banana peel again and fell down. 

He moaned and fell unconscious from the fall. 

“Now, I’m not gonna get to test my tranquilizer dart,” Donnie groaned. 

He looked at Raph before aiming his gun and shot him. Raph gasped and fell forward with a dart on his butt. 

“Really, Donnie?” Mizuki gazed at her boyfriend unimpressed. 

*****

A while later, back at the lair, the turtles and Mizuki gathered around the knocked out Bullhop on Donnie’s research table. 

“Where am I?” Bullhop groaned softly and woke up finally to see the turtles and Mizuki standing over him and gasped. 

“Hey, bud,” Leo greeted him. “You may not remember us—“

“Oh, I do!” Bullhop sat up instantly and glared at them. “You’re those bug-hunting buffoons who turned me into a klutzy bull!” 

“He remembers us!” Mikey exclaimed, his hands clasped together. 

Bullhop then turned to face Mizuki before lightly beaming at her. “And you’re the girl who didn’t cause a mess, even though you were with them.”

“I believe so,” she nodded. 

“Look, we were just trying to stop those oozequitoes,” Leo explained. 

“In fact, we, strike that—I built this technologically-astounding BugSlapper so we could catch them all,” Donnie gestured to himself, then at his motorbike, which was covered in laundry. 

“But…” Mikey held up an empty can of the web goo from Big Mama. “It ran out of Big Mama’s web goo, so…”

He threw it over his shoulder. “Fail!” 

“Anywizzle, we feel pretty bad about what happened,” Leo went on. 

“So, we are gonna make it up to you…” Raph added. 

A sign with the words “Happy Bullhop Appreciation Day” lowered from the ceiling and balloons fell from above. 

“By showing you the best day ever!” Raph raised his arms up and smiled. 

“You mean, you’re just gonna be nice to me without expecting anything in return?” Bullhop narrowed his eyes at them. 

“Mm-hmm,” Raph nodded in agreement.

“It’s the least we could do for you since you got mutated,” Mizuki added thoughtfully. 

“Wow,” Bullhop’s eyes sparkled as he beamed. “That’s how we do it in my native Etobicoke, Canada.”

Mikey wrote the words ‘Bullhop Appreciation Day’ on the calendar and drew a heart. “Happy Bullhop Appreciation Day!” 

*****

As the days passed before the big mission, the turtles and Mizuki helped Bullhop get used to his new life, which turned out to be harder than they believed. 

In the arcade, Bullhop had originally lower points than the others, but later on, he became an expert, much to the teens’ annoyance. 

A few days on the calendar were marked messily since the Bullhop Appreciation Day passed until they got to the day of the mission. 

*****

The turtles and Mizuki stood at a table, going over the plan. 

“Okay, Big Mama’s party’s tonight,” Raph instructed. “This is our chance to get some web goo.”

“Here’s the plan: We go in dressed as waiters,” he gestured to two salt and two pepper shakers and a glass of sugar. “Sneak on past her, and nab the keys to her vault, where she stores her goo.” 

He picked up a jar of honey, indicating the vault. “It’ll be like taking candy from a—“

Thudding from the other room caused Raph to drop the honey jar and grumble pestered. 

The turtles and Mizuki peeked through the doorway and gasped at the sight. 

The living room was in complete shambles from the bull mutant’s loud thudding. 

Bullhop was doing jumping jacks as the instructor on the TV. He then sat down on the living room chair and picked up a jug of milk before drinking it and throwing it over him. 

The empty jug hit Donnie in the face, and his eye twitched. 

“That’s it. He has to go,” He said angrily. 

“Yeah! We’ve gotta sneak into that party tonight,” Raph agreed. “We can’t leave him here and we sure can’t take him with us.”

“But I feel terrible!” Leo argued as his eyes sparkled with solemness. “We’re the ones who made him into this.”

“I’m going to have to agree with Leo,” Mizuki added. “He goes back out there in the streets, he’ll be stuck having to scavenge for food while being klutzy.”

“Guys, I’m Dr. Delicate Touch,” Mikey interjected and stepped out through the doorway and slid over to Bullhop. “Let me handle this.”

“Uh-huh,” Donnie replied sarcastically. 

Mikey sat on the armrest of the chair next to Bullhop. 

“Bullhop, we’re friends, so this will be very easy to say:…” Mikey started calmly and placed his hand on his shoulder. 

“You got to go! Hit the bricks, Slappy!” Mikey then yelled at the top of his lungs, grabbing him by the shirt. 

“What? You’re kicking me out?” Bullhop was shocked, his eyes wide with sadness. 

Mizuki slapped herself in the forehead. 

“That’s right,” Mikey replied. “You have been working a nerve, hoser!”

Leo placed his hand on the younger turtle’s shoulder and Mizuki stepped up next to him. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let’s take it easy—“ 

“Are you wiping your mouth with my Jupiter Jim comic!?” He pointed at Bullhop, who was cleaning his mouth with a comic book. 

He threw it over his shoulder nervously. “Nope.”

Bullhop then fell to his knees and clasped his hands in a pleading gesture. “I’m sorry! Please. Let me make it up to you.”

“No way, chico,” Mikey answered enraged. “We’ve got a big mission tonight, and we don’t have time for…this whole situation.” 

“A mission?” Bullhop lit up. “I can help!” 

“No way,” Leo replied, his hands on his hips, as Mikey had his arms folded across his chest. 

“We’re sneaking into Big Mama’s to snag her web goo,” he gestured to five different waiter outfits. “A klutz like you would only get us caught.”

“Look, we appreciate your offer to help us, but Leo is right,” Mizuki reasoned with the mutant bull. 

“I wasn’t a klutz until I met you guys,” Bullhop sniffled as he sat on the chair, his back turned to them. 

Leo sighed in defeat and dragged his hand across his face. 

“O-okay, if you can just sit here and not break anything ’til we get back,” Leo stammered. “We’ll talk, okay?” 

“Mm-hmm,” Bullhop nodded sadly. 

Leo, Mikey, and Mizuki slid back to the others, where they are waiting in the kitchen. 

“I don’t hear any sobbing, so it must be going okay,” Raph tapped his head. 

He ate his slice of pizza. “Mmm. Unless he’s just crying silently on the inside.”

“Good news, guys: I totally punted,” Leo raised his arms up in the air, smiling. “We’ll do our dangerous mission and deal with the unpleasantness later.”

“That’s your Dr. Delicate Touch move?” Mizuki raised an unimpressed eyebrow at Mikey. 

“Yep,” he nodded. “Pretty great, huh?” 

“Well, I don’t see a reason why that made it easy,” she remarked. 

“Ah, okay,” Raph stood up and beamed determined. “Let’s get to Big Mama’s gala!” 

However, when they got to the living room to get their disguises, they saw that four of them were shredded while Raph’s waiter outfit was missing. 

Raph gasped whiningly and Leo, Mikey, and Mizuki stared at them shocked. Donnie was not looking at them, but she could tell that he was about to be upset about it. 

“I don’t even have to turn around to see how this turned out,” he said. 

“Actually, I think you should,” Mizuki told him. 

He did and she knew in his eyes, he’s frankly upset. “Well, I’ve turned around, and I see.”

“Looks like Goldilocks tried on all your waiter outfits before he got to mine,” Raph narrowed his eyes. 

“Would he really be insane enough to try to make up for everything by doing our dangerous mission on his own—of course, he would. Let’s go!” Leo declared. 

*****

Getting to the hotel as fast as they could, the turtles and Mizuki leaped from building to building until they got to where Big Mama’s gala is being held. 

They searched for Bullhop in the crowd through the roof window until they soon found him holding a tray of food and acting as he works here. 

“Oh, man, I never should have told him our plan,” Leo sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Donnie, what are the odds he can pull this off?” 

“The guy once broke a pillow, so, 1%, he said, overconfidently?” Donnie asked back deadpanned. 

“Okay, I’m in.” They can see him talking to someone through the comm he had placed on his ear. “Just need to find the guy who has the keys to Big Mama’s web goo room and ‘borrow' them.”

“Who’s he talking to?” Raph wondered. 

“I told him earlier if he touched his ear he could talk to anybody in the world,” Donnie answered. “I was trying to get some work done.”

“Roger that, Mr. President,” Mikey said through the comms. 

“There’s the vault!” Mizuki pointed at where the goo is stored. 

The owl bellhop locked the doors before placing the keys on the side. 

“I found the keys to the web goo room,” Bullhop whispered. “Engage.”

“Oh, I read his lips,” Donnie said sarcastically. “He’s engaging. Perfect…”

Bullhop hummed nervously as he gracefully walked through the crowd. “Just gotta get to that giant owl-man and—“

Big Mama stepped in front of him in a flash. 

“Well, hello, cutie noodle,” she greeted him. 

Bullhop screamed in fright. “Big Mama!” 

“Oh, no!” Mizuki gasped and covered her mouth.  
“Abort! Abort, about, abor—ah!” He went to walk away, but he tripped and flung the tray of food by accident. 

Big Mama caught one with her mouth and dabbed it clean with a napkin. “Mmm, I haven’t seen you here before. Are you new here?” 

“No! I’m the bellhop who used to work—“ Bullhop started. 

“Bullhop! Don’t blow your cover!” Mikey ordered through the comms. 

“I mean, yes,” Bullhop quickly changed his answer. “They brought me in from Etobicoke to lend this place a little Canadian class.”

“Big Mama doesn’t normally fraternize with the staff,” Big Mama slipped up next to him and danced around. “But do you cut a rug? Jum and jeevy?” 

She grabbed him by the collar cloth and pulled him in close to her face. “Trip the light splendiferous?” 

“I don’t know what most of that means, but sure!” Bullhop replied nervously. 

The lights dimmed and the dance floor lit up in neon colors. 

“That is not good,” Raph commented, worried. 

The teens watched Bullhop and Big Mama dance on the dance floor while the crowd circling them cheered wildly. 

Bullhop started off badly, but then confidently danced with her like the Dance, Dance Revolution game in the arcade. 

“Whoa!” The teens gasped amazed. 

Bullhop then threw Big Mama up in the air and dabbed. 

The bellhops gasped in wonder and the crowd cheered. 

Bullhop caught her and they both ended in a pose. 

“That boy can move, baby!” Mikey remarked. 

“Come on, Bullhop! Get the keys!” Mizuki softly encouraged. 

Bullhop, while still dancing with Big Mama, got closer to the owl bellhop who has the keys to the storage room. He was about to grab it, but then fell over, with Big Mama still in his arms, and took down the owl bellhop. 

He got up and found the keys on his horn. 

“He actually did it!” Raph exclaimed with happiness. “He’s got the keys! We got to get down there.”

He leaned forward over the teens, and the window opened a little bit before they all fell into the dance room, screaming. 

They landed on the food table, with Mizuki safely on top of Donnie’s arms. 

“Well, that’s a fast way down,” Leo sat up and rubbed his head. 

“You think?” Mizuki raised an eyebrow at him. 

The crowd gasped when they saw the turtles and human and ran away, yelling in terror. 

“Guys! I’ve got the keys!” Bullhop said excitedly, dropping Big Mama in the process. 

He noticed her on the ground and ran off before the purple-skinned woman stood up. 

“The Turtle-boos and Mystic Protector! Get them!” She gasped, then ordered the bellhops. 

“Oh!” 

“Uh-oh!” 

The bellhops charged at the turtles and Mizuki, but she and Mikey avoided them in time before they ran towards the storage room. 

“Bullhop! The keys!” They both yelled. 

Bullhop looked up at the keys still on his horn and threw them at the two teens. Mikey caught and raced towards the storage room doors. 

“Hold them off! We’ll get the goo!” Mizuki called to the others. 

Big Mama stepped in front of the doors and shot out a webbing at Mikey, who tossed Mizuki the keys in time. He groaned as he was glued against the wall by the webbing. 

The woman then changed to her mutant form and roared loudly. She slammed at the ground, and the three turtles rolled back before pulling out their weapons. 

“We’ve gotta get out of here!” Donnie said. 

“What about the web goo?” Leo asked loudly. 

“We’ll get them some other way!” Raph replied. 

“Well, you little meddle-doos,” Big Mama snarled at the turtles. “It’s time for you to find out why you don’t crash Big Mama’s box socials!” 

Mizuki wanted to help the guys out, but right now, the goo is more important. 

Unlocking the storage doors, she quickly gathered up as much goo as she could carry in her arms. 

“Hey, Big Mama!” Bullhop called. 

Mizuki turned around and saw Bullhop, who stretched his muscles and destroyed the waiter disguise in the process before staring down at the mutant arachnid. 

“You dance like you have eight left feet!” The mutant bull retorted. 

“Are you out of your mind, Bullhop?!” Mizuki shouted. 

“So your feather feet mask a stanktonious traitor?!” Big Mama screeched before spewing out webbing at him. 

Bullhop, however, picked up glasses and caught the webbing with them perfectly. 

“You got them!” Mizuki cheered. 

“Guys! I got eight pitchers of goo!” Bullhop ran, but then tripped and dropped the pitchers, shattering them. 

“Guys, I’ve got one pitcher of goo!” He got back up and sped off. “Let’s go!” 

“I’ve got some, too!” Mizuki held up the goo she had gathered in her arms. “Run!” 

“We out!” Raph exclaimed, carrying Mikey. 

“All right!” The other teens ran off, following Bullhop. 

*****

The teens cheered and jumped around in joy outside the hotel while hugging one another. 

“Okay! All right, Bullhop, listen,” Raph exhaled and began. “We’ve been thinking about it, and, uh—“ 

“Come on, Raph, you can do it,” Leo encouraged him. 

“After all, he did help us get more goo to get the oozequitoes,” Mizuki added proudly. 

Raph groaned and held out his hand. “You’re welcome to stay with us anytime you want.”

“Hey, thanks, guys!” Bullhop smiled. “But you know, I was thinking I got to get myself together. I get to learn how to deal with…”

“This whole situation,” he gestured to himself. “And I think I found the way.”

“Through the dance!” He spun around in a ballerina motion. “Mutant…Canadian…ballet!” 

He danced down the alleyway before crashing into a trash can. 

“That sounds great. Good for you,” Leo and Donnie both clapped uncertainly. 

“You sure you don’t want to join the Mad Dogs?” Mikey called out to Bullhop. “‘Cause I was all set to kick Donnie out.” 

He gasped when something was shot at him before falling down and fell asleep. Donnie had his tranquilizer dart out and looked around as if he hasn’t done anything. 

Mizuki sighed and shook her head playfully at him. “You’re lucky I love you, Donatello.”


	29. Mind Meld

Donnie and Mizuki hid on the school roof as the genius tech turtle pulled owned his goggles and scanned the building until he found Mikey in a worker disguise. 

“This is Purple Knight and Dark Red Damsel,” Donnie said through the intercom. “Is everyone in position?” 

“Red King is in position,” Raph answered, wearing a trench-coat and brown hat. 

“Mikey is in position,” Mikey replied. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,” Leo interjected. “Why does Mikey get to use his real name as his code name?” 

“He doesn’t,” Mizuki sighed, rubbing her forehead. “Orange Pond, please use your—“

“What? Why am I the pond?” Mikey interrupted. 

“I’m changing my code name, too,” Leo waved his arm around in the courtyard. “Uh, blue—Bluey. No, blue, uh—“

“No, no, no one is changing their code names!” Donnie yelled, causing the teens to flinch. “Please, everybody just pay attention.”

He sighed deeply before going on. “We are dealing with the Purple Dragons, evil villainous hackers.”

“They consist of three members,” Mizuki said. “Their leader, Kendra, is extremely skilled in combat and can be dangerous if turned the wrong way.” 

“Now, they have the Dragon’s Tooth,” Donnie went on. 

“Uh, double-checking—it is a real dragon’s tooth, right?” Mikey asked as he wiped the window clean upside down. 

“Not a real tooth, dragons nor their teeth are real,” Mizuki replied. 

“What it is, is a piece of technology so powerful that if it falls into the wrong hands, we could be looking at something apocalyptic,” Donnie added. “That’s why everyone needs to be ready. The Purple Dragons are serious and—“ 

They heard Raph scream through the comms and hit the ground below. 

“Red King, report. Are you okay?” Donnie asked. “I repeat. Are you okay?” 

“Not really,” Raph sounded grudgingly when he answered. “There’s a pigeon with pizza in its mouth. It’s a pizza pigeon! I gotta get it for my social, bro.” 

Mizuki face-palmed herself in the face. 

“Pizza pigeon? Awesome,” Leo laughed. 

“We’re gonna be Internet famous,” Mikey said excitedly. “You gotta get that picture, Raph.”

“I’m trying.”

“Guys!” Donnie yelled. 

“Can you three please focus on the mission here?” Mizuki asked agitated. 

“Shh-shh-shh! I’m taking the picture!” Raph whispered. 

“You’re terrible at pictures. I’m coming over,” Leo said. 

“You guys are hopeless,” Mizuki mumbled in Japanese. 

“And there it is,” Donnie sighed. “As usual, looks like we gotta handle this ourselves.”

“Cyber Bishop, plan B,” he turned to his floating robot turtle. 

“See that? That is a cool code name,” Leo said. 

Donnie rolled his eyes at the comment. 

“Let’s do this, bro,” Shelldon chuckled. 

“Mizuki, think it’s best if you stay here and keep an eye on things. Let me know if Raph and Leo are coming,” Donnie said to Mizuki. 

“Not a problem,” she nodded. 

He threw a purple blob towards the window near where Mikey is. The purple loving turtle then jumped up on Shelldon and flew in through the opening, grabbing Mikey in the process. 

“Alright, we’re in,” Donnie reported through her comms. “Any word from Raph and Leo?” 

“About to call them,” Mizuki replied, then pressed the earpiece. “Raph, Leo, where in the world are you guys?” 

“Orange Pond and Purple Knight are in check,” Donnie said frantically. “We need backup.”

“Raph, Leo!” Mizuki yelled. 

“On it,” Raph answered her. “Hey, Leo.”

“Pizza pigeon!” Leo shouted in joy. 

She could hear their laughter from the other end of her earpiece.

“Oh, for the love of—“

“Guys, where are you?” Donnie asked. “Guys? Mikey?” 

“Hold on, I’m coming in!” Mizuki readied herself to get to the others. 

She pulled out a gun and shot out a zip line at the window over the opening. Connecting herself to the line, she zoomed over the courtyard and entered with ease through the hole. 

She got up from the ground and found Donnie on the floor, his eyes wide with fright and Mikey trapped in a beach ball. 

The alarms from the Purple Dragons’ defense blared at their appearances. 

“We gotta go! Come on!” Mizuki helped the shaken Donnie and Mikey up from the floor and rushed out through the exit. 

*****

Back in the lair, the turtles and Mizuki sat at the table. Raph sagged at the thought of not being able to get a photo. 

“Hey, it’s not your fault,” Leo reassured him. 

“It’s okay. You’ll get it next time,” Mikey was patting the oldest brother’s shell. 

Mizuki sat at the opposite side of them, rubbing the bridge of her nose in disappointment and frustration. 

“Didn’t get the photo?” Donnie slammed his hands on the table. “Didn’t get the photo? Because you were too focused on a pigeon with pizza, a piece of military-grade technology remains in the hands of—“

“A high school tech club?” Leo piped in. 

“That’s right.”

“The Dragon’s Tooth mission was impossible to complete because you three were goofing around, rather than being serious about the mission,” Mizuki scolded them. 

“Yeah, well, Donnie’s fear of beach balls didn’t help any,” Leo leaned back in his chair. “I just don’t think we were all on the same page.”

“Not on the same page, huh?” Donnie angrily shook his chair from behind. “Well, I think the problem is, while I come up with brilliant plans and Mizuki did as I instructed her to do, you guys just goof around...”

He picked up a box of crayons. “Like dumb-dumbs!” 

He threw down the crayons on the table and stood back up. “‘Cause you’re dumb.”

“Dumb, dumb-dumbs,” he mumbled frustrated and grabbed his head as he walked down to his lab. 

“I mean, you can kinda see it here,” Raph raised his phone and squinted his eyes at it. 

Mizuki glanced at where Donnie went off to and sighed. 

She soon found him sitting in his chair, his hands over his head. He is definitely stressed out by the failure of today’s mission. 

“Donnie?” She walked towards him and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. “I can tell everything is not fine at all.”

“You read minds and emotions too well, Mizzy,” Donnie sighed. “How are we gonna get the Dragon’s Tooth when we have those dumb-dumbs messing around?” 

Mizuki bit her lip and pulled up another chair. 

“I’m not an expert on ideas like this,” she said. “But we can always try and hack into the security on those drones.”

“I love where your mind’s getting to, babe,” Donnie smiled at her, but his grin fell again. “But that would probably be too hard. They might have been able to upgrade them for better protection...”

“I’m sure you’ll come up with something soon,” Mizuki said, kissing the corner of his mouth. “I’ll see you tomorrow, alright?”

“Yeah,” Donnie smiled lightly back at her as she walked off. “See ya.”

*****

Mizuki walked down the hallway towards Donnie’s room and was suddenly met with an explosion from the lab, then a purple blur and her hand being grabbed in excitement. 

“Whoa! Donnie?!” She exclaimed in fright. “What’s going on?!” 

He didn’t answer her as he pulled her towards the skating area where the other boys are. 

“I’ve done it!” He shouted. 

Mizuki leaned in and noticed that he had his goggles on and had a remote of some sort in his hands. 

The other three got up from the ground due to the explosion from his lab. 

“Done what?” Raph coughed. 

“I have created something that will make us unstoppable,” Donnie replied, smiling. 

“You finally finished your drill?” Mikey asked him with excited eyes. 

Donnie laughed before replying to him. “No.”

“Is it my Skate Hawks idea? You see, the Hawks that we strap to ourselves, and then—“ Raph clenched his fists together giddily. 

“You say the word,” Leo slid up to him. “I’m ready to go wrangle some hawks.”

“Not Skate Hawks,” Donnie shoved his three brothers down to his lab and into a machine of some sort. 

“Uh, what’s going on?” Raph wondered. 

“Oh, just let me close in to the Mental Intelligence Reprogramulator—I mean the Pizza Fun Box,” Donnie closed the door and beamed wickedly through the window. 

“Pizza Fun Box?!” The three asked together and danced around happily. 

Mizuki stared up at the machine and tilted her head before seeing a lever lower down in front of Donnie. 

“Everything’s going to be brilliant, four times as brilliant!” He pulled down the joysticks on the lever and laughed devilishly. “Evil laugh!” 

The machine then powered up as the smoke inside surrounded the oblivious brothers. Electric bolts rippled through the parts of the contraption and crackled. 

Donnie laughed maniacally like an evil scientist and glanced at the screen, which showed purple colors rising from within the three other turtles until they got to the top. 

The machine then ceased powering up, and electricity fizzled all around it before it powered down gradually. 

Mizuki opened the door and stepped aside in time for the other three guys to fall to the floor groaning. 

“Uh, Donnie…?” She raised a finger at Donnie uncertainly. 

“Hold on a moment,” he signaled her to wait and knelt in front of Leo. 

“Did it work? How do you feel?” The purple loving turtle held up a Rubix cube to the red-eared slider turtle. 

He took it out of his hand and quickly assembled them to a perfectly shaped cube. “I feel…smarter.”

“By Hawking, it worked,” Donnie beamed ecstatically. “You dumb-dumbs are as smart as me now!” 

“Are we as smart as you, or as intelligent as you?” Mikey flipped a page of a book he is holding as he leaned against a chalkboard Raph is writing on.

“You know, it might seem like semantics, but it is an important distinction,” Raph said. 

“This is the greatest day of my life. Relishing chuckle,” Donnie whispered before rubbing his hands together with a smirk. “Now, who’s ready for a second try?” 

“You mean…” Mizuki lit up. 

“You know what I mean,” Donnie nodded and wiggled an eyebrow at her. 

*****

“Let’s get that Dragon’s Tooth,” Donnie ordered, his goggles back on. 

Mizuki stood next to him to observe the effects of the machine he had placed his brothers in. 

“All right, Mikey, you—“ 

“On it,” Mikey replied cooly. 

The drones from earlier flew in just as Mikey was coming at them and shot rockets at the younger turtle.   
He was one step ahead of them as he used his kusari-fundo to lure the rockets away and cause them to blow up. 

“Oh, my God,” Mizuki gasped amazed. 

“Raph, are you—“ Donnie started. 

“In position,” Raph answered, holding a remote in his hand. 

Mikey landed next to him with a sly smirk. 

The drones then hovered right at the two. 

“Hydraulics,” Raph pressed a button on the remote. 

Ramps popped up from the ground and sent the drones flying. 

“Leo, get ready,” Mizuki said through the comms. 

“All set,” Leo replied, holding a different remote with three portals behind him. “Wormholes.”

The drones flew through the portals and fell into the dumpsters.   
“Oh, it’s everything I ever wanted,” Donnie said with joy. 

He then placed on his goggles and saw Mikey climbing up the school building and entering the computer lab through the hole entrance. 

“How are you doing, Mikey?” Mizuki asked through the comms. 

“One must take one’s time,” he only answered. 

Donnie and Mizuki held their breath for only a moment before Mikey jumped out through the hole with the Dragon’s Tooth in hand. 

“He did it!” Mizuki exclaimed. 

“I am so proud of you,” Donnie said with stars in his eyes. “Ah, they grow up so fast.”

*****

“I am pleased to announce that we are finally an unstoppable team,” Donnie and Mizuki high-three-ed the trio. 

“And I have been waiting for a long time to do this,” Donnie pressed a few buttons on his arm computer. 

Confetti fell from the ceiling, an air horn blaring, and large speakers were lifted from the floors automatically. 

“Successful mission dance party!” Donnie shouted. 

The teens, apart from Donnie and Mizuki, laughed and chattered while dancing around. 

“It’s like looking into a beautiful, beautiful mirror,” Donnie hugged one of the speakers. 

“I have to say, Donnie,” Mizuki remarked as she watched the three turtles dance around. “This is incredible.”

“And we can’t take all the credit of completing this mission without giving you some,” he gently grabbed her by the waist and spun her around a few times before dipping her down. 

She giggled at him, her arms wrapped around his neck. 

Raph took the Dragon’s Tooth from behind Donnie and held it up in the air. 

“It’s such an advanced piece of technology,” he chuckled. “It’s hard to decide what to use it on.”

Donnie stood Mizuki back up and took the Dragon’s tooth out of Raph’s grip. “I know. I know.”

“But it’s gotta be great since we can only use it once,” the soft-shell turtle went to walk off, but his face was met with the end of a satellite dish. 

“What if we could use it to launch a whole network of satellites?” Leo sat with a pile of satellites surrounding him. 

“Or we could use it to power my Super Collider?” Mikey showed Donnie and Mizuki a machine he had built himself. 

“Huh,” Mizuki hummed amazed. 

“Whoa, how’d you build that?” Donnie asked the younger turtle. 

“With some spare parts in your workshop,” Mikey shrugged. 

“I’m sorry. You went into my workshop?” Donnie asked him again. 

“Yes, and I also reorganized your motherboards by processing power,” Mikey showed him the motherboards now in different spots and order.   
“Oh, my God,” Mizuki said impressed. 

“Smart…” Donnie sighed, slightly annoyed. “Cool, cool, cool. Cool, cool, cool. What a day.”

Mizuki took a moment to glance at Mikey, then at Leo and Raph, who are already reading science books and writing on the chalkboard. 

She’d have to say, they’re already intelligent like Donnie is. However, she felt like something is about to happen soon. 

Something really bad…

“So, Mizzy. You won’t mind if you could spend the night here?” Donnie asked her, pulling her out of her thoughts. 

“Um, well, of course not,” she nodded, although uncertain about the aftereffects that will happen. “But won’t your father mind?” 

“Don’t worry about him. He told me that he’d accepted you, pretty sure he’d be happy to have you here,” Donnie pecked her on the cheek and headed to his room. 

Mizuki glanced back at the three other turtles before following behind Donnie. 

*****

Warm breath on her neck was the first thing that woke her up in the morning. She turned over and was met with Donnie’s tired yet soft beaming face. 

“You’re up early,” she softly said to him. 

“Yeah, well, so are the others,” he replied, still smiling. 

Getting up from the bed, he kissed her on the cheek and headed out through the door, before she followed behind him. 

It was then that she saw the three brothers with piles of books in their hands. 

“Did you have breakfast yet?” She asked them. 

“We’ll eat later,” Mikey replied to her without looking. “We’re too busy right now.”

As she watched them walk off, she couldn’t shake away the same feeling she had that night.

It wasn’t until later that she caught up with Donnie, who is carrying a pizza box, that she noted her concerns about the brothers already getting stranger than before. 

“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” he said after she had finished telling him about the way they are acting right now. “When I asked them about the skating game we play, they just said they’re busy. But I’m hoping that this…”

He gestured to the pizza box. “Will convince them otherwise.”

“I sure hope so,” Mizuki said. “I’m getting worried about them.”

They soon arrived at the room where the guys could be and found them already working on some technical fixings and studying. 

“Hey, guys! Pizza’s here!” Donnie opened up the pizza box. 

“There’s plenty for everyone,” Mizuki added. 

No one got up from their current position or stopped what they are doing. 

“You’re not gonna even gonna take a break for pizza?” Donnie raised an eyebrow at them. 

“Mikey? Are you positive you’re not going to have a piece of that pizza?” Mizuki turned to the younger turtle, who is rewiring something. 

“Can’t, too busy rewiring the systems,” he replied without even glancing at her. 

“Rewiring my systems?” Donnie glanced over his shoulders and became surprised. “What—dang, that is some tasty circuit work, Mikey. But wait, you’re messing with my tech?” 

“Tech?” Raph laughed at his remark. “You call this junk tech?” 

“Raph?” Mizuki gasped. “What is wrong with you guys today?” 

“Yeah, sick burn, Raph…” Donnie chuckled before he haltered. “Wait, you burned me. What’s going on here?” 

“Why don’t you two keep yourself busy with that skateboard thing of yours so we can do the real work,” Leo sat on the spinning chair and tapped his finger on the armrest, with Raph and Mikey grinning smugly at Donnie and Mizuki. “Go, go. Off, off.”

“Hey, wait,” Donnie said shocked while still holding the pizza box. “You’re trying to get rid of us. That’s what I do, but—but to you guys.”

“We’re just a little busy,” Raph only replied to him before turning to the other two brothers. “Let’s suit up, shall we?” 

The three other turtles then removed their colored masks and instead placed purple ones over their heads. They each took a black marker and drew eyebrows over their eyes. 

Donnie and Mizuki couldn’t believe what they are seeing in front of them. 

“Oh, you look magnificent,” Donnie gasped and dropped the pizza box on the ground. “But I thought purple was my—my thing.”

Mizuki saw Splinter outside the lab rubbing his eyes and stared at the three transformed brothers in utter shock. Before she had a chance to explain, he just shrugged and walked off in another direction. 

She looked at where he walked off with a deadpanned expression. 

*****

“I flew too close to the sun, Shelldon and Mizuki,” Donnie laid down on his chair with a bored, devastating look. “Who would’ve thought a team full of Donnies would be more nightmare than dream come true? Not I, that’s for sure.”

The two teens are sitting in Donnie’s bedroom with the hovering turtle beside them. 

“Tell me about it,” Mizuki sighed, her hand leaning against her cheek. “I wished the fun-loving Mikey and hilarious Leo would come back. And the big soft-hearted Raph? He’s a fun guy to hang out with.”

“Yeah, you beefed it,” Shelldon told the genius tech turtle. 

“Yes, I beefed it,” Donnie agreed. “Well, we know what we must do.”

“I’ll ready the dispose unit,” Shelldon released a load of weapons from his shell. 

“Wow. Way too effective,” Mizuki remarked. 

“Uh, not that. Too soon,” Donnie gently pushed a flamethrower away. “But I like where your head’s at.”

He sighed. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I miss the dumb-dumbs. I want my brothers back.”

“You and me both,” Mizuki nodded. 

*****

The two hid behind the shelves in the kitchen, Donnie’s favorite kind of pizza sitting on the counters. 

“Should be here any moment now,” Donnie quietly said. 

The three boys passed the kitchen until they sniffed the air and noticed the pizza on the counter. 

“Artisanal flatbread?” They all said. 

Mikey reached out to take a piece, but the pizza fizzled for only a second before disappearing. 

A cage fell from the ceiling and trapped the three turtles. 

“Yes! Still got it!” Donnie whooped. 

“Nice shot, babe!” Mizuki remarked happily. 

The turtles chuckled from a different side of the two. They both gasped in shock. 

“More like, nice try, version 1.0,” Leo smirked smugly, with his arms folded. 

Donnie and Mizuki looked back behind them and saw the three imposters fizzling and doing random poses. 

“No, it can’t be!” He gasped horrified. “I’ve been out-hologramed by you!” 

The turtles and imposters laughed before the latter disappeared as the real ones walked away while laughing. 

Mizuki groaned in defeat and frustration. “We were so close!” 

She noticed that Donnie was nowhere to be seen. She looked around the kitchen until she spotted a purple robo-shell heading off in another direction. 

“Donnie?” She followed after him with worry. 

She soon found him on his hands and knees while looking at the photos of himself and his brothers before they became full-on occupied geniuses. 

“Donnie?” Mizuki softly asked him again and knelt next to him. 

She placed her hand on his shoulder. “I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t blame yourself, sweetheart,” he sighed with solemness. “I’ve failed. I’ve lost my brothers forever. I know we don’t always see eye to eye, but we’re really gonna miss you guys. It was messy, but gosh, it was fun, which is totally something Leo would’ve said after he cut that worm guy in half.”

Mizuki nodded at his statement. She remembered the moment where Leo had sliced up Warren Stone in half and believed that he had killed him. 

“Don’t beat yourself up. It’s just 100% your fault,” Shelldon hovered up to Donnie and Mizuki. 

She glared at him and was about to say something, but then stopped. 

“Wait a minute,” she pondered before her eyes gradually it up. “Donnie?” 

“Beat myself up? Beat myself up?” Donnie mumbled before getting up in a flash with a wide grin. “Gasp! I’ve got it! To get my brothers back, we don’t need to outsmart them! We need to outsmart myself.” 

“And I think I have an idea that just might work,” Mizuki added. “But...it’s going to require something serious.”

*****

The two found the three brothers in the skating area, which is now changed to a lab. Mikey studied the Dragon’s Tooth, while Leo and Raph busy with something else. 

Donnie took a moment to look at Mizuki, who nodded encouragingly at him, and breathed deeply and made his way towards the three turtles. 

“I give up,” he declared to them. “You guys are way too smart to be fooled. I’ll just leave you and the Dragon’s Tooth alone.”

“Does this apology have any strings attached?” Mikey asked him, narrowing his eyes. 

“No, no. That is what I’m saying,” Donnie shook his head, not even noticing the string swinging back and forth on his robo shell. “No strings attached.”

“Uh, there’s literally a string attached to you,” Raph pointed out at the string as he and the others zoomed in. 

“Oh, boy, they’re falling for it,” Mizuki mumbled from the shadows. 

“Whatever you do, don’t pull that,” Donnie warned them with his arms outstretched. “It’s just a prototype for a new aquatic battle shell.”

“Mm, he told you not to pull it,” Raph theorized. “Which, of course, means you should pull it.”

“Unless he’s doing the double reverse-reverse, then you should not pull it,” Mikey added. 

“Ah, there it is—classic Donnie overthink,” Donnie mumbled, sweating nervously. 

“Ah, it’s the triple reverse,” Leo finished. “I’m pulling it.”

He pulled the string from the robo shell, which beeped loudly and changed to a large beach ball with Donnie in it. 

“It worked!” Mizuki quietly shouted. 

“You can do this, Donnie. You can do this. For Mizuki,” Donnie told himself and rolled towards his brothers. 

“Giant beach ball!” They all yelled and ran around in panic. 

Mizuki tried to hold back her laughter as she watched her boyfriend chase down the panicking turtles. She then headed towards the lab where the Mental Intelligence Reprogramultor is still standing. 

The three turtles ran through the door with various beach balls hitting them in the faces. 

“This way!” She waved her arms to them, gesturing to a handmade ‘Exit’ door. “Quickly!” 

“Brohounds, gotta get out of here!” Shelldon floated next to her. “Follow our honest faces to safety!” 

The three turtles ran through the door of the handmade cover, which lifted itself up to reveal the Mental Intelligence Reprogramulator. 

“Donnie, now!” Mizuki called out. 

Donnie pulled down the joysticks of the lever, and the machine started up like last time. When he checked the levels of his brothers, they were not getting anywhere.

“Why isn’t it working?!” Mizuki shouted over the noise. 

“They’re still too smart!” Donnie replied. “We need more power!” 

Their eyes then landed on the Dragon’s Tooth in the skating area. 

“Alas, what irony,” Donnie realized. “I must use the supreme power of the Dragon’s Tooth to return my brothers to their blissful ignorance.”

He quickly grabbed the Dragon’s Tooth and placed it on a pedestal connected to the machine. 

“Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on!” He exclaimed frantically. 

“Please work, for the love of God!” Mizuki pleaded. 

The contraption whirred sharply until it soon powered down, and the smoke cleared. The two opened their eyes to find the three turtles, who had returned to their normal colors, rubbing their heads. 

Donnie bit his bottom lip nervously, while Mizuki clasped her hands together in a pleading way. 

Raph picked up the Dragon’s Tooth, which was half shattered from its one-time use, and studied it. 

The blue-haired girl gasped lightly. 

“Ten bucks if I shove this up my nose?” Raph suddenly asked. “Huh?” 

Leo and Mikey stared at him wide-eyed and excited. 

“It worked...” Donnie whispered, sighing in relief. 

“Oh, thank heaven,” Mizuki exhaled. 

“I’ll give you twenty, brother,” Donnie chuckled.


	30. Nothing but Truffle

Outside the city, a pair of violet eyes studied Mikey and Todd from a tree branch. They narrowed when they eyed them watching Meat Sweats’s cooking vehicle in an open area.

Mizuki was about to take another leap at a different branch when a voice from behind caught her off-guard.

“Mizzy?”

She yelped and fell backward, her arms waving around, but a pair of arms grabbed her in time before she could even hit the ground.

Donnie looked at her with a raised eyebrow, while Mizuki blushed. She quickly jumped out of his arms and placed her hands behind her back cooly.

“Oh, D-Donnie,” she said while trying to keep calm. “I-I was not expecting you here. I was…just out for a walk.”

“I highly don’t believe that, because it seems like you are spying on Mikey and Todd,” Donnie countered, raising a flirtatious eyebrow at her.

Mizuki sighed in defeat after trying to come up with a different explanation. “Alright, here’s the thing. Mikey and Todd are trying to get something from Meat Sweats, and I’ve followed them here to investigate.”

“Uh-huh,” Donnie nodded at her.

“And whatever they’re doing, I’m keeping an eye to make sure they don’t get hurt,” Mizuki finished.

“You know, you could have called me,” Donnie added. “And I would have complied.”

She quickly placed her hand over her boyfriend’s mouth when she noticed Mikey and Todd moving in and pulled him down behind the bushes. They followed their eyeing direction and spotted the pig mutant pulling out a blue chunk of some sort from a small bag.

“What in the world is that?” Mizuki pondered.

Donnie pulled down his goggles and studied the blue chunk. “I believe he is wielding the shadow moon truffle.”

Mizuki blinked when she heard him mention the truffle. “That’s why Mikey and Todd are spying on Meats Sweats? They’re trying to get a mystic ingredient from him?”

“Apparently so,” Donnie nodded.

“But what’s a shadow moon truffle?”

“It’s a super rare mystic truffle that only grows when the Jupiter planet eclipses the full moon,” he explained to her.

“And they’re going to try and get it why?”

“No clue, but we’re gonna find out.”

The two watched Mikey and Todd sneak up to Meat Sweats’ truck and tried to get the moon truffle. Donnie bit his lower lip nervously.

“Oh, don’t be so stupid, Mikey,” Mizuki mumbled.

Todd suddenly slipped forward and he and Mikey hit the truck in the process. The moon truffle was flung off the counter and caught by a nearby hawk.

Donnie and Mizuki gasped in horror when Meat Sweats finally spotted the two mutants and chased after them.

“We have to help them!” Mizuki pulled out her fans and went to attack the pig mutant.

“No! Wait! We’ll get caught, too!” Donnie pulled her back in the bushes.

Meat Sweats had eventually cornered Mikey and Todd against a brick wall. The mutant chef went to grab Mikey with his tendrils, but Todd jumped in the way and was caught in the tentacles instead.

“Todd! No!” Mizuki yelled and reached out to him.

“There’s nothing we can do right now!” Donnie helped her back tenderly behind the bushes.

After he had sucked Todd’s power, Meat Sweats suddenly laughed and let him go in the process while saying some friendly sentences.

Donnie and Mizuki blinked in astonishment while watching him confront Mikey, who was holding up Todd from the ground.

“Did he just…” Mizuki asked.

“He must have sucked in Todd’s friendliness, which is his superpower,” Donnie realized deadpanned.

When Mikey revealed that the shadow moon truffle was gone, Meat Sweats towered over him and raised his hand over the younger turtle. Donnie and Mizuki gasped terrified at what is about to happen next.

“We’ll have to go and get a new one tonight, chum,” Meat Sweats patted Mikey on the shoulder.

“Tonight?” Donnie and Mizuki both said in unison.

They then remembered the shadow moon truffle.

“The shadow moon,” Donnie exclaimed practically. “We’ve got to get the truffle before Meat Sweats does.”

“But what about Mikey? We can’t leave him alone with that mutant,” Mizuki reasoned.

“Good point,” Donnie tapped his chin in thought and typed on his arm computer. “I’ll call in Shelldon to keep an eye on them while we find the shadow moon truffle.”

A message appeared on the screen, indicating that Shelldon is on the way.

“Alright, let’s go find the truffle,” Donnie declared and took Mizuki by the hand.

*****

For the rest of the day, Donnie and Mizuki searched for the shadow moon truffle, while the genius tech occasionally checked on Mikey and Meat Sweats with Shelldon through his arm computer.

The pig mutant and younger mutant seemed to be getting along well since Meat Sweats had sucked in Todd’s niceness superpower.

“I’m honestly worried about Mikey. What if Meat Sweats is actually getting close to use him?” Mizuki had asked.

“Trust me, if he messes with Mikey, he’s gonna deal with us,” Donnie had smirked before continuing to walk in the forest.

*****

Night had fallen, and Donnie and Mizuki are getting close with where the shadow moon truffle could be.

Carefully stepping over a fallen tree, Mizuki held her boyfriend’s hand while he led her through the dark woods.

“I’m getting a really bad feeling about this, honey,” she confessed.

“Same here, Mizzy,” he nodded in agreement. “But we can’t let Meat Sweats get his hands on that truffle.”

They soon came across a clear area in the woods, where the mystic ingredient would be.

“I see it!” Mizuki whispered, pointing at the shadow moon truffle.

True to her word, the truffle is stuck in a tree.

“Let’s go get that truffle,” Donnie smiled and pulled out two gas masks.

Handing one to Mizuki, he allowed his robe shell to open up and carried her around her waist. They flew over the challenging parts of the swamp and soon landed on the ground where the truffle is.

“Oh, we made it,” he sighed relieved. “And with one step ahead of Meat Sweats.”

They heard grunts from a different side of the swamp and noticed Mikey and Meat Sweats already making way for the truffle.

“Oh, no!” Mizuki whispered. “We’ve got to go!”

“Hold on, let’s just get a small piece first,” Donnie pulled out a small knife and plastic bag.

“Donnie, we don’t have time! They’re coming!” Mizuki said desperately.

The genius tech turtle finally sliced off a little piece of the truffle and placed it in the plastic bag. Getting up quick, he grabbed Mizuki gently by the hand and they both hid behind some bushes, just as Mikey and Meat Sweats are approaching the truffle tree.

“There she is,” Meat Sweats pointed at the shadow moon tree. “The shadow moon truffle.”

“It’s beautiful,” Mikey tearfully said.

“It sure is,” Meat Sweats nodded in agreement. “And you know what would make this day perfect? If my best mate would pluck it himself.”

Mikey gasped in happiness. “Best mate? Say it again! No. Say it when I get that truffle.”

The younger turtle walked towards the truffle tree, while Meat Sweats smirked darkly.

Donnie and Mizuki’s eyes shrunk with horror. “Oh, no...”

Mikey went up on the tree to grab the shadow moon truffle.

“Mikey, look out!” Mizuki reached out to him.

“Mizzy, what are you—Whoa!” Mikey screamed when the tree he was on suddenly moved on its own.

Donnie looked up and gasped terrified. “The shadow moon!”

The tree creaked as it came to life, forming its arms and legs. Mikey screamed and fell to the ground, just as a face appeared on the tree.

“Angry tree,” the tree growled.

“What are you—“ Mikey was cut off when two arm-like branches grabbed him and held him up in the air.

Meat Sweats chuckled devilishly as the box turtle was thrown around and slammed onto the earth by the truffle tree.

“Must protect truffles!” The tree said in a low tone.

“Oh, I’m sorry, matey,” Meat Sweats laughed evilly. “There is one thing I forgot to mention. The truffle is protected by a mystical were-tree, you know, full moon and all, but thanks for being the distraction.”

Mikey grunted when he was slammed on the ground again. “But I thought you were being nice now.”

“Oh, that wore off hours ago,” Meat Sweats admitted. “And by the way, you play a lousy mandolin.”

“Oh, you did not just say it to him,” Donnie growled at the pig mutant.

“What?” Mikey stuttered sadly. “You said it sounded like a choir of angels dipped in honey.”

“Well, things look a little different once the Todd goggles come off, innit?” Meat Sweats smirked.

Mikey was pulled back by the were-tree’s branches again and yelped.

“Hold on, Mikey!” Mizuki unfurled her weapons and charged at the tree.

Donnie pulled out his bo-staff and ran alongside his girlfriend, battling the alive plant.

“I’ll be taking that truffle,” Meat Sweats went to pick up the moon truffle, only to find it gone. “Wait, where is it?”

“Is that what you’re looking for?” Todd held up the truffle and laughed triumphantly.

“Todd!” Mizuki yelled relieved.

“You’re okay!” Donnie added happily.

“Todd, how did you know I was in trouble, and that Donnie and Mizzy were here?” Mikey asked him.

“My squirrel friends told my bird friends to tell my puppy friends to tell me,” the capybara mutant replied.

“Paprika!” Meat Sweats shouted and charged at Todd.

“Watch out!” Mizuki cried.

Todd avoided the chef’s hits with ease, leaving her and the two turtles stunned.

“Hold still, you critty little thing!” Meat Sweats snarled when he tried to hit him again.

“You’re no match for me...” Todd grunted while dodging the punches. “I’m a master of Passive Fu...It’s where I take your energy...and do nothing with it...”

“Todd, get his glove!” Mikey shouted as he tried to fight off the were-tree with his kusari-fundo.

When he evaded Meat Sweats’s punches again, he took his glove right off in the process and laughed.

Mikey threw the end of his kusari-fundo at his tendrils and pulled him towards the tree. The pig mutant landed on the tree’s face, unintentionally feeding its powers to him.

“I don’t feel so good,” the tree groaned, releasing Mikey.

Donnie flew up and caught him in time, smirking down at him.

The blue-haired girl saw Meat Sweats getting bigger and his body mixed with the tree’s due to having sucked in the powers.

“Run!” She ordered, pulling the two brothers and Todd along with her.

“Time for a little midnight snack,” Meat Sweats roared and chased after the four.

“Todd, you’re a woodchuck! Chuck him!” Mikey shouted to Todd.

“Okay, you keep saying I’m a woodchuck. I’m a capybara!” Todd yelled back.

“Pretty sure you’re a woodchuck!”

“Can we talk about this later?!” Mizuki cried.

The giant pig mutant repeatedly slammed his fists on the running four, missing them every time.

“Buddy, Todd, I’m really sorry I treated you so badly and ditched you for the psychotic lunatic!” Mikey apologized to Todd.

“You ditched him?!” Donnie and Mizuki glared at the younger brother.

“I thought you were kidnapped!” Todd stated.

Meat Sweats’s last hit sent the four screaming and flying into a pile of bushes.

“I’ll take me truffle now and use it to cook me some scaredy-cat stew!” He pulled back the bushes to find the four not there.

“Huh? Where are you?” He looked around the forest, searching for them.

The two mutant turtles, Mizuki, and Todd hid behind the leaves while trying not to let the pig mutant find them.

“Oh, man. What would Raph do?” Mikey whispered and pondered about what the snapping turtle had taught him.

His eyes lit up when he remembered one of the lessons he had taught him. “Silver! That’s it!”

“But where are we going to get something silver?” Mizuki asked him desperately.

“Oh-me-gosh—my BFF mallet,” Mikey pulled out a mallet with the words ‘BFF’ on it. “It’s pure silver, baby!”

“Nice!” Donnie pumped his fist in the air.

“And I’d be happy to return it,” Mikey smiled.

They looked over the top of the bushes just as Meat Sweats turned around, revealing a hole in the chest.

“All right, we gotta get him right in the hollow,” Mikey said.

“Okay, get on my shoulders,” Todd suggested.

“No, Todd,” Mikey shook his head and smiled. “This time, you’re the periscope.”

“Really?” Todd sniffled happily. “I’m the periscope?”

Donnie and Mizuki beamed proudly at the box turtle.

“Hey, tree chef,” Mikey called, catching Meat Sweats’s attention. “You are officially unfriended!”

Todd threw the silver mallet through the hole in the chest, prompting the chef mutant to grunt in pain.

“Right in me knothole!” He groaned agonized.

He screamed as electric bolts surrounded him and engulfed him completely.

Donnie protected Mizuki, who yelped when an explosion came off, with his body from the blinding lights of the electric lines.

Meat Sweats was soon back to his original size and knocked out by the silver mallet. “Oh, shallots.”

“It worked!” Mizuki cheered victoriously.

Donnie laughed and spun her around bridal-style.

“Yes!” Mikey and Todd whooped and danced happily.

“Couldn’t have done it without you, bud,” Mikey beamed at the capybara. “Hey, still got that truffle?”

*****

The next day, Donnie and Mizuki came by Todd’s puppy rescue place just as Mikey filled two plates for himself and Todd.

“Here we go—two best friend specials,” Mikey set the plates down on the table.

“Mmm, forest truffle pork chops,” Todd sniffed the dish contently. “Ohh, they smell divine!”

“I gotta admit, Mikey, you did pretty well back there, fighting off Meat Sweats with Todd,” Donnie remarked, smiling down at his brother.

Mikey smiled back at him and prepared to eat his pork chop. A horde of puppies sped by him and ate the pork chop clean.

“Huh?” He gasped.

Mizuki laughed, half-covering her mouth.

“Ah, well,” he shrugged. “Can I have a bite of yours, best friend?”

Todd snarfed down his meal while glaring at him.

“Oh, Todd,” Mikey chuckled.

Donnie and Mizuki both sniggered.


	31. Bonus Chapter (Donnie and Mizuki's Sleepover)

With her bag safely on her shoulders, Mizuki landed safely on the floor of the skating area and gazed around the area. 

Apart from the light shining through the skylight, the darkness enveloped the skating area. She walked to the genius tech turtle’s lab where he had told her to meet him. 

Earlier today, he had asked her, or more like requested for her, to bring the necessary items she can to the lair. When she had asked him what for, he just replied, “For a special treat.”

“Hello?” Mizuki called through the lab quietly. “Donnie? Are you here?”

No answer. No one seemed to be here. 

She sighed deeply before taking another step to where he could be. 

A pair of arms suddenly grabbed her from behind and lifted her bridal-style. Mizuki yelped but then giggled when she recognized her surprise attacker. 

“And can you feel the love tonight?” Donnie sang as he spun her around. “The peace the evening brings...”

“Oh, my God, Donnie, you dork!” Mizuki laughed, her arms wrapped around his neck. 

“More like Donnie, the Turtle King,” Donnie chuckled and kissed her in the lips. 

“You’ve brought the things for tonight?” He asked her and set her down. 

“They’re right here,” Mizuki held up her bag to him. “But what is this all about anyway?”

“You ever had a sleepover before?” He asked her softly. 

“Unfortunately, I do not know what it is,” she shook her head

“Well, some kids our age usually have those,” he explained to her. “It’s when a group of friends hang out at nights and do some fun stuff together.”

“Like what?” Mizuki giggled. 

“Well, there’s movies to watch, games to play, some talking they do,” Donnie said. “Plus, they usually tell each other secrets...”

He then looked at her romantically. “And you wanna know my first secret with you?”

“And what’s that?” She implied. 

“This is gonna be our first sleepover together.” 

He dipped her down and she giggled before their faces inched closer to one another. 

“Aww, that’s so cute,” Leo teased from outside the lab. 

“Leo!” Donnie yelped and brought Mizuki back up. 

Both their faces are red when they saw Leo and April standing outside the room with mischievous smirks. 

“Now don’t tell me this is gonna be your first sleepover together as boyfriend and girlfriend?” Leo raised a silly eyebrow at his brother. 

“‘Nardo, please not a good time,” Donnie warned him. 

“Relax, I’m just messing with ya, bud.”

“Leo, as much as we want you to join us, we just want some time alone,” Mizuki told him. “And besides, don’t you have your own plans for tonight?” 

“Well, Leo and I are hanging out and having our sleepover, too,” April smirked. “But since you guys are too busy to be in our awesome slumber party, we’ll just be going then.”

Mizuki felt her boyfriend’s body tense up when she mentioned that statement. 

She knew what that meant. 

“I’m sorry? Your awesome slumber party?” Donnie released his one arm from Mizuki’s waist as he stared at April with a calm, yet smug look. “Is that what you said?”

“Donnie, they’re not worth it right now,” she held him back gently on the chest. 

“Oh, yeah,” April nodded. “And since you’ve got your fair damsel in distress, we won’t be bothering you guys for the night.”

Mizuki was the next one to be internally triggered by her remark. 

“Um, you got trapped in goo by Draxum when we first came across him,” she playfully retorted. “So that makes us even.”

“Oh-ho-ho-ho, I’m sensing a challenge here,” Leo chuckled. 

“How about this?” Mizuki suggested, placing her hands on her hips. “We combine our slumber parties. Whoever had the best of the slumber parties wins the official title of having a sleepover.”

April and Leo looked at one another before smirking at them. 

“Deal.”

*****

The first game they had played as part of the slumber challenge was spinning around for one minute and solving a problem afterward. 

April and Mizuki spun around with the end of bats on their forehead, while Leo and Donnie stood to the side. 

“Fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine,” Leo counted the seconds, then clapped his hands. “That’s one minute.”

April and Mizuki stopped spinning and nearly lost their balance a few times while stumbling towards two whiteboards. 

“Long division, long division. Go, go, go,” Donnie said. 

“Remember, show your work,” Leo reminded. 

April tried writing on the board to work on the problem, but her hand clumsily drew a line across the equation, still dizzy. 

“I’m okay,” she said and grabbed onto her whiteboard. “I’m okay.”

She then fell to the side with the whiteboard with a thud. Leo and Donnie winced, while Mizuki took a second to glance down at the other girl before returning to her own equation. 

“Not okay,” she admitted dizzyingly. 

“C’mon, April, we can’t lose this,” Leo tried to encourage his friend. 

Mizuki finished the problem on her whiteboard and soon regained her balance. “Thirty-seven!” 

“Yes!” Donnie cheered and hugged her. 

Leo glared down at the dizzy curly-haired girl on the floor. 

*****

April crouched on the floor with Leo and Mizuki on their knees and holding one another. Donnie was standing to the side and watched the next game about to happen. 

“Ready, set, wrestle!” April raised her hands to signal the start. 

Mizuki shoved Leo, who screamed, and pinned him on the floor by his wrists. 

“One, two, three! Pin!” April slammed her palm down three times defeated. 

Mizuki pecked Leo on the snout, leaving him dazed. 

“Stop that,” he said to her. 

Mizuki kissed him on the cheek as well before she kissed him everywhere on his face except his mouth. 

“Mizuki, stop that,” Leo said more flustered. “April, do something.”

April, even she was annoyed at the loss, knelt up in front of Leo and began kissing him on the forehead, then various places on his face apart from his lips. 

“April, Mizuki. Stop that. I’m serious! Stop!” 

Donnie smirked victoriously at his brother, who glared at him from the floor. 

*****

Hours later, the four teens had reached the last game of the slumber challenge: pillow fight. Donnie had installed sound-proof walls around the lair so the others wouldn’t hear the loud racket. 

With Leo and April holding their pillows, Donnie and Mizuki had their own sets of the pillow. They eyed one another as if they are in a battle of wits. 

“Ready…” Leo started. 

“Set…” April added. 

“Fight!” Donnie yelled. 

He slammed his pillow onto Leo’s face before he was hit by April’s pillow. 

Mizuki dodged April’s soft throw and landed her pillow in her face. 

“This is fun!” Leo chuckled before he was hit in the back of the head by Donnie’s pillow. 

For what seemed like minutes, the teens laughed and fought each other with their pillows. 

Donnie and Mizuki seemed like they are winning the challenge of the slumber fights. 

“Can’t believe we’re about to win this,” Donnie chuckled. 

“Same here,” Mizuki giggled. 

April and Leo yelled as they jumped up from behind them, their pillows raised in the air. 

Donnie and Mizuki yelped before they are suddenly ambushed by the soft attacks all over their bodies. They laid down on the floor, with Donnie shielding Mizuki from the pillows. 

“Okay, okay, you win!” Mizuki laughed while protecting her head. “You win, for the love of God!” 

April and Leo stopped slamming their pillows on the two and laughed triumphantly. 

“Told you you couldn’t beat the all-time winners of slumber parties!” Leo smirked down at the two and high-three-ed April. 

“One day, we will get back at you,” Donnie playfully warned his brother while helping Mizuki up from the floor. 

“Alright, alright,” Mizuki giggled, stepping in between the two. “I believe we’re all worn out for the night due to all the challenges of the slumber parties. Let’s just get to bed.” 

“Agreed.” 

“Yes.”

“I’m gonna agree with Mizzy on this.” 

April and Leo were already asleep a while later before the other two teens. With the sound-proof walls down for the evening, they made their way to Donnie’s room. 

“So we have not done this whole ‘secrets’ thing, have we?” Mizuki raised a mischievous eyebrow at her lover. 

“No, we have not. But we can start without them,” Donnie shrugged, smiling. “You start.”

She shook her head, chuckling. “Well, to be honest, back at the Times Square where we faced off those mutant cockroaches, I guess I was jealous when you danced with Atomic Lass.”

“That’s before we got together,” Donnie stated as he took off his battle shell. “My turn. I was jealous as well when you danced off with that lumberjack mascot.”

“Now we’re even,” Mizuki smirked as they both climbed up on his bed. “Academically, my friends from the rebel base are trained as well. Kind of like school, but there are few fun events.”

“Wow, that’s unexpected,” Donnie remarked and laid down on his bed with the blue-haired girl laying beside him. “One last secret from me to you. More than anything else in the world, I care about you, the guys, Dad and April.”

“Romantically for me?” She softly asked him. 

“Yeah, something like that.” Donnie was met with a soft kiss on his lips and smiled down at her with his cheeks bright red. 

“I care about you deeply as well,” she mumbled to him sleepily and yawned. “Best slumber party ever.”

Donnie hummed in agreement. 

Before his eyes closed, they were on the dozing girl, whose hand laid on his plastron, his arm around her body. 

‘Oh, yeah. Absolutely the best slumber party ever,’ he thought happily.


	32. Shadow of Evil

At the Middle Park Zoo, the teens are investigating an attack happening down there.

Jumping on the roofs and hiding there, the turtles and Mizuki looked over to find purple vines being commanded by Draxum, who had various people and animals captured. The mutant stood on a rock and ordered his gargoyles to take something from the rock beside him.

“Not good. Draxums’s back to kidnapping humans and animals,” Raph reported.

Donnie pulled down his goggles and saw an oozesquito flying around.

“Oozesquito!” Mikey exclaimed fearfully. “If Draxum uses his bug to mutate the rhino and warthog, we’ll be outmatched.”

“No,” Leo and Raph said.

Mizuki saw the two gargoyles prying a silver piece of metal from within the rock and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “I don’t think that’s what he’s here for.”

“I agree, Mizzy,” Donnie studied the silver piece. “It looks like a mystic metal. That is a first.”

However, when the oozesquito flew around Draxum, he swatted it away from his face, and the bug hit the ground, lifeless.

The teens gasped horrified.

“No!”

“Whoa!”

“What the…He just swatted away an oozesquito!” Leo gestured at the mutant maniac with his sword.

“Allow me to distract him with my multidimensional reflective orb neutralizer!” Donnie flipped his bo-staff around and opened it.

A disco ball appeared at the top, colorful lights shining around.

“Uh, sweetie, that’s a disco ball,” Mizuki pointed it out.

“He’s just trying to throw us off,” Raph gently moved her and his brothers aside. “But we ain’t getting thrown.”

The turtles and Mizuki jumped off the roof and faced Draxum.

“Stop right there, sheep creep!” Raph ordered, their weapons already prepared.

“Well, if it isn’t my loser creations and the Emerald Storm,” Draxum remarked, clearly angered from their last encounter.

Mizuki titled her head perplexed.

The Emerald Storm? Why was she called that numerous times?

“We are sick of your whole mutating humans dealio,” Leo stated to him. “We are kicking you out of…”

The two gargoyles had already freed the mystic piece from the rock and gave it to their master. A portal then popped up and they disappeared through it before it closed and disappeared.

“…New York,” Leo finished. “We—we did it.”

“Oh, well, clearly the sight of my disco ball scared him off,” Donnie said slowly before standing upright and proud.

“You are welcome, and you are welcome, you are welcome, and you are also welcome,” he gestured to his brothers and Mizuki.

“Don’t think it was your disco ball that did the trick,” Mizuki stated. “It must have been that mystic silver piece he was after. But what is he planning with it?”

“If we find more glowly metal, that’s where we’ll find Draxum,” Raph theorized. “Yes!”

“Yeah!” They all agreed.

“Assuming he doesn’t scurry off again when he sees my terrifying disco tech!” Donnie said as they headed back to the lair.

“Um, again, definitely not effective, honey,” Mizuki commented.

*****

As they strolled back towards the lair, Mizuki couldn’t stop thinking about her parents’ possible whereabouts and that name.

Emerald Storm…

That name sounded familiar to her.

She couldn’t be sure, but it might have something to do with the electric green lightning bolts and the last time she had faced off Big Mama back at the Battle Nexus.

“Everything okay, babe?” Donnie noticed her thinking look and asked her.

She snapped out of her thoughts and nodded. “There’s something about that name I couldn’t get a grip on. Emerald Storm. Why did they name me that?”

“No clue, but which reminds me,” Leo tapped his chin, walking alongside Raph and Mikey. “That was still awesome, the way you kicked Big Mama’s behind back at the Battle Nexus.”

“You were on fire, girl! The best Mystic Protector anyone’s ever seen!” Mikey agreed.

Mizuki looked at them before smiling and glancing down at the ground in front of her.

They soon arrived at one of the portholes in the street and pulled it open.

“If we could find more glowy metal, we could use it to trap Draxum,” Raph said.

“I might be able to make us all goggles if I can divide the Hidden City mystic crystal in my lab,” Donnie smirked.

The teens began to climb down the sewer stairs while going over their plan.

“If not, I’ve got a science-y idea of my own,” Raph piped in.

“Yeah, well, like that’s gonna end well for us,” Mizuki remarked.

“Just don’t let Pop see the crystal,” Mikey warned fearfully.

“Oh, man, he’d kill us if he knew we found a mystic Hidden—“ Leo started.

“Pops?! Splinter?!” The turtles and Mizuki saw Splinter climbing up the ladder on the opposite side of them.

The rat mutant yelped and caught himself on the ladder with his foot. He was dressed up in a green Hawaiian shirt, jeans and a hat on his head, which he is holding onto since he is upside down.

“Boys, Mizuki,” He greeted them questionably.

“Uh, what are you doing there?” Leo asked him sweating nervously.

“Well, uh, what are you doing there?” Splinter asked them back.

“Oh, well, uh,” Mizuki began as Donnie quickly hid the crystal in front of him. “We’re just having a normal day.”

“Oh, yeah, a typical, normal, mystic-free day,” he agreed.

Raph smacked him upside in the head and glared at him with Mizuki.

“What? I said mystic-free,” Donnie said annoyed.

“Don’t blow our cover,” Mizuki whispered to him.

“Ah, me too, totes normal,” Splinter laughed nervously. “And definitely not investigating anything un-normal.”

He nodded his head, humming in agreement. The turtles and Mizuki did the same while sweating anxiously.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

“Yes,” Mikey joined in before narrowing his eyes at the shirt Splinter was wearing. “Hey, that looks like my shirt!”

“Got to go!” Splinter pulled himself up on the ladder again.

He groaned in agony when he felt his back break and leveled himself up a few times before humming a tune in a Congo tune.

He fell down the steps again but caught himself once more and quickly exited the lair. Donnie, Mizuki, and Raph looked at one another perplexed just as their father made his leave.

“Oh, that was so close,” the violet-eyed girl sighed in relief.

“I can’t believe we fooled him,” Raph said.

*****

Later on, the turtles and Mizuki sped down the streets in the Turtle Tank. Donnie was outside on the top of the large vehicle, tied to a post with his goggles on.

“We’ll cover tons of ground looking for glowy metal this way,” Leo remarked as he and Mikey drove the Turtle Tank.

“And once we find some, we’ll use it as bait to catch Draxum and kick him out of New York for good,” Raph added.

“But there’s a good chance it won’t be easy, since the Foot Clan are looking for that same material as well,” Mizuki stated.

“Regardless, this was a great idea, Raph,” Mikey turned to look at the oldest brother. “Donnie’s not only the genius in the family.”

“Anything out of the ordinary yet, babe?” Mizuki called up to her boyfriend.

“Yes, Mikey’s gross misuse of the word ‘genius’,” Donnie called back slightly annoyed.

He gagged suddenly and coughed.

“Donnie? Are you okay?” Mizuki asked worriedly.

“I just swallowed a bug,” Donnie gagged in disgust. “Ugh, I ate it.”

“An oozesquito?”

“By the taste of it…not an oozesquito.”

She sighed and shook her head.

A loud screech from outside and above the Tank suddenly caught the teens off guard.

“What was that?” Leo asked nearly frightened.

“Bird, gia—giant—get off!” Donnie screamed from outside.

“Was he saying turn left or right?” Raph questioned. “Couldn’t really…”

An ear-bleeding squawk from a bird cut him off. Raph gasped in terror when he saw something through the windshield window.

“Something got Donnie!” He exclaimed. “Not part of my plan!”

“Donnie!” Mizuki cried when she noticed a large bird carrying Donnie by his shell.

“After the bird!” Mikey ordered.

Leo drove the Tank after the large bird, which is still holding a screaming Donnie hostage.

“We can’t lose that bird! Leo, get us closer!” Raph commanded.

Leo put the Tank in autopilot mode and the teens clambered up to the top of the vehicle. They spotted the bird with Donnie still in its claws hovering above them.

“NOW!” Raph shouted.

The teens jumped up, yelling, and grabbed the bird by its wings.

The creature screeched and stayed up in the air, trying to shake the battling youths off.

“Hold on, baby!” Mizuki cried.

“Perfect line to use, since I’m about to be eaten by a mutant bird!” Donnie shouted back terrified.

The turtles and Mizuki continued to struggle with the flying creature for God knows how long. By then, Donnie was already in the bird’s mouth.

“How in the world are we going to take down this giant bird?!” Mizuki asked over the chaos.

Mikey heard his phone beep and pulled it out. “Hey, a text. Ohh, Dad loves us.”

“Really, Mikey?!” Mizuki yelled.

“Focus,” Raph climbed up on the bird’s back. “We’ve got to get Donnie and the crystal backs we can find Draxum.”

“Thanks for the news flash,” Leo sarcastically said as he held onto the creature’s front chest.

“All right, let’s get this bird out of the air!” Donnie exclaimed through its nose. “Start pulling feathers!”

“Hang tight, sweetie!” Mizuki said and started pulled off the feathers along with the guys.

The bird let out a pained screech and flew around in the air panicking until there were no more feathers left to pull. The monster and teens all fell to the ground, screaming.

“Now’s a good time to tell Dad we love him back!” Mikey quickly texted on his phone while tears spilled out from his eyes.

“Are you kidding me?!” Mizuki screamed as Donnie opened up his hover shell and carried her by the waist.

The others and the monster soon hit the ground near a shoe store, while Donnie hovered over them with his lover in his arms.

“Ugh! We did it!” Mikey fell to the ground face flat. “We beat that thing!”

“Too bad that wasn’t our mission,” Raph remarked.

“Oh, right, mystic metal,” Donnie typed on his arm computer, while Mizuki landed tenderly on the defeated bird. “You know, when we were plummeting, I saw some a few blocks away.”

“Yes! To the tank!” Raph picked him and Mizuki up and raced back to the Turtle Tank with Leo and Mikey following behind him.

“Donnie, back on top!” He placed the genius tech turtle on the pole again before buckling back in.

“I’m staying up here with you this time, so you won’t get snatched away by some different monster,” Mizuki stood next to him and held on tightly to the pole.

“Who wants to take my place? Free bugs to eat,” Donnie tried to persuade the others, only to yell when the Tank started up again.

*****

After a few minutes of searching, the teens soon found the destination where the mystic metal would be.

“It’s here? At the Grand Central Station?” Mizuki raised a questioning eyebrow.

“Get ready!” Raph yelled.

Donnie covered her protectively just as the Tank crashed through the buildings. They all screamed as the vehicle landed without any damage.

“What?” The Foot Lieutenant growled.

“And he sticks the landing,” Leo smirked, getting out of the Tank.

“Are you okay, babe?” Donnie asked her.

“Uh-huh,” she nodded in reply.

One of the Foot Recruit, who somehow looked similar to Splinter, saw a silver piece and went to pick it up.

“Mystic metal!” Donnie shouted.

“Just as I planned,” Raph smirked but stopped when he noticed the Foot Clan men and their soldiers. “Wait, what are the flame-heads doing here?”

“They’re after the mystic metal!” Mizuki realized.

“Excellent. Randall has the artifact,” the Foot Brute grinned devilishly.

“Hand it over, bozos,” Raph demanded while using Donnie’s hand to point at them. “We’ve got a bigger fish to catch with that.”

“Bigger than us?” The Lieutenant asked them. “That hurts. Attack!”

The soldiers charged at the teens, who pulled out their weapons and fought them off.

Mizuki took a moment to glance at ‘Randall’ and another Recruit, who was handed the piece and escaped through another path during the battle.

‘Hold on, that’s…’ she thought.

“Cowabunga!” The turtles shouted, finally defeating the soldiers of the Foot Clan.

The Lieutenant slapped himself in the forehead. “We must stop finding recruits in ninja chat rooms.”

“You, Randall…” The Brute turned to the stout recruit, who yelled and fell on his bottom.

“Show us you are worthy, or you are out of the Foot Clan,” The Lieutenant ordered

“Uh, yeah, about that,” ‘Randall’ got up and hesitantly said. “I’m a little out of shape—I mean, for a teen.”

“Do it now!” The Lieutenant yelled.

“Oh, adorable,” Leo commented as ‘Randall’ walked towards them and Mizuki. “What is it, bring your ninja son to ninja work day?”

“Surprisingly, yes, but if you back down now, we will let you go in peace,” ‘Randall’ told them.

“Or what, you’ll hug us with those cute little arms? Ooh, so cute,” Mikey, along with his brothers, laughed.

“You should just go,” ‘Randall’ ordered them. “I am sure your father—whoever he may be—would like you to come home in one piece.”

“A little runt the exact same size as Pops is telling us to run home to Daddy. This guy cracks me up!” Raph cackled and fell to the floor as well as the others.

Mizuki was the only one not laughing but studied the recruit carefully. He seemed to be the exact same size as Splinter…

“Okay, looks like I have to teach you a lesson,” ‘Randall’ finally told them and motioned for them to come forward. “Except for your friend here. I’m sure she would love to step out of this fight.”

“Ohh, wow,” Leo wiped a tear from his eye and stepped forward, readying his sword.

“Sorry, Recruit,” Mizuki said to the Foot Recruit. “But I want some questions that are desired to be answered.”

As the teens charged at the stout recruit, Mizuki ran at the Lieutenant and Brute, her fans unfurled and ready for battle.

The Foot Brute slammed his fists at her, but she dodged them and kicked him underneath his chin.

The Lieutenant tried his luck by knocking her out, but she was able to grab his arm first and throw him over her shoulder. He yelled and slammed onto the ground and groaned.

The bigger Foot man charged at her again. Mizuki flipped backward and threw her fan at him.

It missed him by a few centimeters, though it circled back, electric green lightning bolts sparking up. It whammed itself on his head, sending him down to the floor, and flew back at her hands.

Mizuki didn’t pay any mind to it as she faced off the Lieutenant.

“Alright, I have questions that need to be answered right away,” she growled at him as she blocked off his attacks. “Why are you calling me the Emerald Storm?”

The Lieutenant kicked her back, but she skidded across the ground before he attempted to hit her again.

“You possess a power much greater than ever thought possible,” he said to her as he blocked off a few of her hits. “A power so great that it could destroy even the darkest of souls.”

“What?” Mizuki stared at him perplexed before pushing him back. “But why the name?”

“A prophecy foretold of one with those powers that could only be controlled by the bravest and determined of souls. The Emerald Storm,” the Lieutenant went on. “The one who is gifted those abilities will help the ancestor of the famous Lou Jitsu destroy the most notorious force of the earth.”

Mizuki looked over his shoulder and saw the turtles getting beat up by the stout Foot Recruit, which ended with the brothers all piled up on one another. She winced as Raph landed on top of Donnie and Mikey.

“Thus ended the lesson,” the stout Recruit stood on top of the Turtle Tank.

Mizuki titled her head as she tried to remember where she had heard the voice from.

“Randall!” The Brute called.

The recruit perked up on top of the Tank.

“Hand me the artifact,” the Lieutenant ordered.

“Oh, wait,” ‘Randall’ looked on both sides of him, searching for the mystic metal.

While the Foot men are distracted, Mizuki took the chance to rush towards Donnie and the others.

“Are you guys okay?” She helped Donnie up from the ground.

The ground suddenly shook beneath them and broke apart, revealing a purple vine running underneath them.

The vines then sprung up, knocking the recruit off the Tank, and charged at them.

The turtles and Foot Clan ran off, avoiding the vines in time. However, they all fell to the underground of the train station and scattered across the rumble.

A door chimed from one side of them and a familiar figure stepped out through the subway doors.

“You!” Mizuki growled at the mutant maniac.

“Are you mad?!” The Lieutenant yelled at Draxum. “That little stunt could have killed us!”

“Baron Draxum?” Leo exclaimed shocked. “It’s like a bad guy convention.”

“Once again, my plan worked,” Raph added.

“Except we don’t have the mystic metal to lead him here to us,” Mizuki remarked.

“For boys and a young warrior that claim they don’t like me, you sure are clingy,” Draxum insulted.

“That’s because we keep unintentionally bumping into you!” Mizuki retorted.

“Wait a minute. You’re working for these jerks?” Raph realized.

“Correction: we are working together,” Draxum corrected him.

“Except for this one…stealing our property,” he held up a girl with similar puffs of curls with his vines and the mystic metal in his hands.

The vine threw the girl to the ground and she scooted back from the Foot men.

“Unvine the traitor so I can show her how we treat people who betray the Foot,” ‘Randall’ stepped in front of her with a sword.

“I really like this Randall kid,” the Brute nudged his partner.

‘Randall’ shifted his sword between Draxum and the ‘traitor’ before he winked at her, and she winked back.

The recruit charged forward at the young girl, but he jumped over her and shouted as he was about to attack Draxum.

He suddenly yelled in pain when he felt his back break again. “Ohh, Nelly!”

Mizuki gasped in surprise when he hit the ground.

“Okay, give me a quick ten,” the recruit gasped and stood up in a flash. “I’ll be right with you.”

He hummed a Conga line tune and danced around, leaving the people present astonished, before falling to the floor again.

The turtles and Mizuki gasped when they recognized the figure.

“Father? It’s Pops!”

“Splinter?! I knew it!”

“Wait,” Draxum understood.

“No, do not reveal—augh!” Splinter was cut off when the mutant commanded his vines to grab him and carry him to him.

Draxum pulled off the mask to reveal the rat mutant’s face completely.

“Dad?”

“Father?”

“You call this gutter trash father, as if this could be the great Lou Jitsu,” Draxum laughed evilly.

“I have been living large long enough,” Splinter grunted. “I shall no longer deny my destiny.” 

“Hot Soup!” He cried and broke free of the vines holding him hostage.

“Hot Soup?” Draxum repeated questionably. “And that same fire. I see it now. You are Lou Jitsu!”

“No. No way!” The teens, apart from Mizuki, all exclaimed together.

“Randall’s Lou Jitsu?” The Lieutenant asked excitedly.

“I love Jitsu for Justice!” The Brute squealed with giddiness.

“Punch Chowder changed my life,” the Lieutenant held up two comic books.

The figure rolled over to the teens, still tangled up in the vines, and pulled off the mask. “Psst, guys, over here.”

“Whoa. What?” The turtles and Mizuki turned to find April clad in a Foot Clan outfit.

“April’s a villain?” Mikey gasped in horror as well as his brothers.

“No, Mikey,” Mizuki rolled her eyes annoyed. “April, what in the world are you doing here?”

“I’ll explain later,” April whispered to her. “I’m undercover with Splinter.”

“That makes more sense,” Mikey commented.

“Let’s trounce these bozos,” April turned to the Foot Clan and Draxum with a determined smile.

“Great idea,” Mizuki agreed, gripping her fans.

“Whoo-hoo!” The guys cheered and charged at the villains with their weapons ready.

“Get them!” The Lieutenant ordered.

As the guys and April are busy fighting off the origami soldiers, Mizuki faced Draxum, glaring at him with hatred in her eyes. Splinter watched her with worry as she stood in front of him protectively.

“You murdered my parents, you monster,” she pointed at him darkly. “Because of you, I could never see them again. But I will make sure they will never be forgotten, just like your defeat!”

She charged at him and punched him straight in the face. Neon green electric lines sparked from her curled hand when she slammed her fist against his cheek.

Splinter gasped in amazement at her sudden attack.

Draxum hit the wall back first and got up to see the blue-haired girl staring at him with narrowed green eyes.

She panted heavily and readied herself for the battle.

“If this is what you desired since the last we met, then so be it,” Draxum smirked darkly.

He went to attack her with his vines, but Raph appeared from the side with his fonta glowing red hands and punched him in the gut.

Splinter stared at his oldest son in wonder and astonishment.

Raph’s strongest hit sent the mad mutant hitting the wall again and forced him to release the mystic metal.

The piece flew out to the train track and got wrecked by the wheels of a subway car.

The Lieutenant growled and threw more origami soldiers at the teens and Splinter.

“Uh-oh,” Raph gasped.

“We have to grab them!” Splinter pointed to the broken pieces of the metal.

Raph picked up his brothers and father and jumped out of the way in time before the origami soldiers could catch them.

“There’s too many of them! We’ve got to go!” He shouted.

Mizuki grabbed April by the arm and ran alongside the guys.

“They must not get the armor!” Splinter yelled as they all jumped on the back of the subway train.

Draxum and the Foot men glared at the mutants and humans, who glared back at them with fury in their eyes.

Mizuki was the only one whose eyes were filled with enraged tears. They studied Draxum with hatred and determination until they disappeared around the corner from afar.

*****

Later on, the mutants and girls hid underneath the tunnels of the sewers. Raph carried Splinter, who patted his oldest son’s head gratefully.

“Thank you, my sons,” Splinter told them. “And might I add…”

He slammed his hand on their heads, forcing them to grunt in pain. Mizuki and April winced at the impacts.

“You are all grounded!” Splinter shouted. “Except for Mizuki, but I believe she earns a stern talk.”

“What?!” The turtles and Mizuki shouted together.

“For not telling me you knew Draxum!” Splinter reasoned.

“Come on! What about all your secrets?” Leo asked him agitated.

He was met with a shoe being thrown at his face by his father. Mizuki and April gasped at the sudden action.

“No, I will not ground me for my secrets!” Splinter declared, before sighing deeply. “But I will tell you everything. My sons and Mizuki, our destiny begins tomorrow. And we are way behind.”

The turtles and Mizuki looked at one another before returning their gazes back at him and nodded in agreement.

“Now, someone carry me,” Splinter whined dramatically. “I can hear my bones rattling.”

Raph groaned and picked up his father before they started their way back to the lair.

“What? A mystic piece of metal?” Jupiter asked.

“It’s just as I said, Jupiter,” Mizuki nodded. “And Draxum and the Foot Clan are working together.”

The young girl had explained everything that had happened to the Mystic Protector Leader, a few days since the events at the Grand Central Station. She stood outside the living room and out of the guys’ hearings.

“What do you suppose they’re up to?” Mizuki asked.

Jupiter pondered about what she had said to her, tapping her chin. “I have no clue, but I fear it has something to do with an evil presence that was meant to be defeated years ago. I will let you know when we have further updates about this matter.”

“Thank you, Jupiter,” Mizuki bowed respectfully.

“Until next time, Mystic Protector,” Jupiter bowed her head before the screen closed.

The younger girl slid down against the wall and slapped herself in the forehead.

Sighing tiredly, she leaned her head back and stared up at the ceiling.

“Hey, Mizzy,” Donnie poked his head through the doorway.

She jumped at the sudden appearance of the softshell turtle.

“Whoa, hey. Didn’t mean to do that,” he raised his hands, chuckling at her reaction.

“Please tell me you didn’t hear the whole thing,” she said anxiously.

“Unfortunately, I did,” Donnie confirmed.

She sighed and slammed the back of her head lightly against the wall. “Well, I guess I’m gonna have to go…”

She got up from the ground and went to head out, but Donnie gently took her hand, stopping her. Mizuki turned around and noticed him staring at her lovingly.

His eyes pleaded with her to stay with him for the night. She didn’t question him about his father letting her stay over as they walked towards his room.

Laying next to him, her hand rested on his plastron, with his arm around her.

“Can I ask you something?” He said to her, breaking the silence.

She hummed, letting him speak.

“That name, ‘Emerald Storm’. Did you find out why they called you that?” He implied softly.

She remembered how the Foot Lieutenant explained to her about the prophecy, about her powers…

“It’s hard to explain, and really long to tell,” she answered. “I don’t know, Donnie. It may seem so strange for you to hear…”

“Well, I’m sometimes a good listener, so I’m willing to hear what you’ve got to tell me,” Donnie replied and smiled down at her.

She beamed back at him before she explained to her boyfriend the prophecy of the Emerald Storm and the powers that were gifted to her, before moving on to when Splinter told her about his true past and how she had promised she wouldn’t tell the boys until the time is right.

True to his word, Donnie held to her every sentence as she recounted everything that had occurred beforehand.

“You know what, babe?” Donnie spoke up after she finished telling him everything. “No matter what type of warrior you are, Mystic Protector, Emerald Storm, you’re still my girl. And I will always love you.”

Mizuki beamed back up at him and rested her head against his front shell. “Thank you, Donnie.”

That’s all she needed, to keep all the doubts from growing any more further within her.

People who would always love her regardless of who she is and where she came from.


	33. Portal Jacked!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where I've decided I'm posting one chapter at a time. But there's a small surprise in this chapter, to ease your excitement.

Mizuki scanned through the screen on her phone for any sign of her parents. 

The people she had been looking for since the fight back in Big Mama’s hotel. 

She had looked up their names, their dates of birth, their fingerprints. She looked up anything she could find to search for them. Even with the help of the brothers, she tried everything she can to find them and bring them back safely. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t find a single trace of them whatsoever. 

“Any luck, babe?” Donnie looked over her shoulder to see the screen. 

Mizuki sighed defeated and put away her phone. “No. It’s been nearly three months, and still no sign of them. But I don’t wanna give up now. I have to find them.” 

“We’ll find them somehow, Mizzy,” Donnie placed his palm on her shoulder and grasped her hand in his. “Even if it will take a few more months.” 

Mizuki smiled up at her boyfriend gratefully. 

Meanwhile, Raph and Mikey are already talking about their plan on getting to Run of the Mill Pizza in time. 

“Oh, yeah,” Mikey said. 

“Gotta make it to Run of the Mill Pizza before they close,” Raph smirked. 

“Oh, I can’t wait to try their new meatless option: Vegetable,” Donnie added, still holding Mizuki’s hand, and turned to her. “Whaddya think, babe? Wanna take a break and eat pizza with us?” 

“Well, I don’t suppose a little break wouldn’t hurt,” Mizuki replied, smiling a bit. 

“Say no more, mis hermanos and amiga,” Leo said behind them. 

“Huh?” The turtles and Mizuki turned around to him the red-eared slider turtle holding his sword up in the air. 

“I’ll use my ultrareliable portaling sword to get us there,” Leo continued. 

He swirled his sword around while raising an eyebrow cockily. “Hachi machi!” 

“No, no, no, no, no, no,” the other turtles shook their heads and backed away terrified. 

“Leo, don’t do it!” Mizuki shouted. 

Leo ignored their warnings and opened up a portal with his sword. The gateway suddenly sucked them in as they screamed. 

The blue-haired girl tried to reach for Donnie, but all she can see was one turtle being separated while three others went off in another path. 

“DONNIE!” She shouted before the bright lights clouded her vision. 

*****

Mizuki fell through the portal and screamed as she plummeted towards the ground below her. 

She bounced off a roof canopy and landed on a food cart. A few citizens gasped when she crashed hard on the cart. 

Mizuki groaned and pushed herself off the food cart. 

“Dammit, Leo,” she mumbled. “You really gotta work on those portals of yours.”

However, when she recognized the place she was in, her eyes widened in terror. “Oh, crap.” 

“Hey!” The food cart vendor exclaimed. “You destroyed my beloved cart!” 

“Sorry, terribly sorry about that,” she quickly apologized. 

“Alright, what’s going here?” A small group of guards approached the vendor and Mizuki. 

“Uh, well…” she started, but the vendor cut her off. 

“This human destroyed my food cart!” He pointed at her angrily. “I demand you arrest her immediately!” 

“Come here, kid,” one of the guards, a lion yokai, slowly stepped towards her with his partners. 

“We’re not gonna hurt you, little brat,” an eagle yokai added while beating his baton against his palm. 

Mizuki backed away a bit before she bolted down the streets of the Hidden City. 

The yokai guards chased after her, carefully pushing aside a few mutant citizens and struggling to catch up with her. By the time they got to a clearing of the streets, she was already nowhere to be seen. 

“Search the town! Find her!” The captain of the guards commanded. 

They all nodded and went off in different directions to find her. 

Mizuki hid up on the roof of a building and peeked over the ledge to find the guards gone. 

She sighed in relief. “Alright, now to find Leo.”

*****

Hours had passed since Mizuki unintentionally arrived in the Hidden City, and still no sign of Leo anywhere. 

But she wasn’t going to give up. She was going to find him so they can find the other brothers. 

Checking to see if the authorities are out there, she found none and stepped out of the alleyway. She had a cloak over her head to prevent them from recognizing her. It’s not much, but at least it’ll keep her hidden. 

As she came across the edge of the city, she stared out into the horizon of the land. It spanned out like a vast desert, the ground colored neon green and the air thin with light yellow fog. 

‘Please, for the love of God, don’t let them all be out there,’ she thought. 

“There she is!” The yokai captain shouted from the crowd. “Get her!” 

Mizuki gasped and jumped the ledge of the cliff, sliding down the hill with ease. 

“Stop her! Don’t let her get away!” The captain yelled as he and his men chased after her. 

Landing at the bottom of the hill safely, Mizuki dashed through the desert as fast as her legs can carry her. The guards didn’t fail to catch up with her and surround her in a circle. 

She gasped and searched for a way out. Unfortunately, with the guards blocking her, she’s trapped. 

“Human, you are under arrest for destruction of property and finding our home in the Hidden City,” the captain said to her strictly. “You will be erased as punishment and to protect our existence.” 

A gun was pulled out from the side pocket and aimed at her. 

Mizuki gasped and closed her eyes tightly. 

A grenade was thrown from out of nowhere and landed in front of the guards. It then exploded to a cloud of smoke, engulfing Mizuki and the guards. The yokai authorities coughed from inhaling the smoky cloud, while Mizuki covered her mouth with the cloak. 

Two figures ran right through the smoke, wearing gas masks, and one of them quickly grabbed Mizuki by the hand and pulled her away from the guards. 

Just as they were able to see through the fading smoke, the two figures and Mizuki are gone again. 

“Oh, come on!” The captain yelled in frustration. 

The figures, one of them still holding Mizuki by the hand, ran across the vast desert until they came across an abandoned building a few moments from the city. 

Mizuki rested her hands against her knees as she caught her breath. 

The two figures studied her with cautiousness when she finally got a good look at them. They seemed to be dressed up in clothes that are lightly covered in dirt, with goggles covering their eyes and fabrics shielding their faces. 

The two figures stopped suddenly when they got a better look at the young girl. Their eyes underneath their respective goggles widened. 

Mizuki tilted her head, raising an eyebrow at the persons. 

One of the figures removed the goggles and mask, revealing a pair of full lips and dark violet eyes. They then pulled off their headgear to let their light-dark blue hair flow down.

Mizuki gasped. Her eyes focused on the woman’s features as her hand gently grasped at the golden locket. 

The woman’s face had a few wrinkles on her cheeks and underneath her eyes. A few grey streaks streamed down her semi-short azure hair, the same style as Mizuki’s. 

The other person, a buff figure, removed his headgear and goggles as well, his almond-shaped eyes staring at the younger girl. 

His face also had some wrinkles, except his hair was dark brown with a couple of grey streaks.

The woman stepped towards Mizuki first and studied her features. 

She laughed silently, a few tears leaving from her eyelids. “Mizuki.”

Mizuki’s eyes began to fill with tears when she recognized the stranger. “Mama?”

The woman, her mother, cupped her face with her two hands, her own cheeks now stained with tears. She pulled Mizuki in and embraced her tightly and stroked her hair. 

The younger girl buried her face on her shoulder as she hugged her back. 

She then saw the man standing behind them and stared back at him. 

Her father chuckled in relief and happiness, tears staining his cheeks. He then wrapped his arms around Mizuki and the woman and hugged them. 

Their hug did not break apart for at least a moment. They wanted to hold on to each other for a while longer. 

After all these years of not knowing her parents, after trying to search the truth about them, she has finally found them. 

*****

Later, the reunited family walked back to Momoka and Garrett’s hideout, a small cave with a blanket over the entrance, a fire glowing to keep out the darkness, and various baskets to hold their belongings. 

Mizuki sat next to Momoka, while Garrett sat the opposite direction of them, poking the fire to keep it burning. 

“But...I don’t understand,” Mizuki wondered aloud to them. “I thought you were dead a long time ago.”

“No. Draxum wanted you to think that,” Momoka answered. “We’ve battled him after we had left you with Jupiter. But he was too powerful. He sent us here, in this place, so we wouldn’t be able to try and stop him again.”

“We’ve tried, attempted numerous times, to get back to the real world and warn everyone about the danger that would soon befall us all,” Garrett explained next. “But they all end the same way as the last time.”

“But no matter how much we wanted to give up,” Momoka cupped her daughter’s cheek and smiled at her. “We always thought about you. Out of everything else in the world, you’re the only thing that stayed in our mind for years, the only thing that kept us going through the hardest of times.”

Mizuki smiled at her newfound mother. 

“But your father and I must know,” Momoka questioned her. “How did you get here when there were guards near the entrance?”

Mizuki thought about what she needed to say. 

“Mama, Papa, I don’t want you to freak out, but...” she inhaled deeply nervously. “I’ve been with mutants. Four teenage mutant ninja turtles.”

Momoka and Garrett eyed their daughter with surprise and interest. 

“Turtle brothers?” Garrett said. 

“Yes,” Mizuki nodded. “They help defend the city of New York from Draxum and his mutated creations. As of now, I’m helping them train themselves to fight Draxum and defeat him and his mutations.”

“Is it true?” Momoka studied her amazed. “But...it’s impossible. No one is ever able to defeat that monster.”

“I’ve seen them fight the first moment I’ve met them. I have my faith and hope in them.”

“We know, sweetheart,” Garrett chuckled at her enthusiasm. “We’ve heard stories about them from a few people who were trapped here as well from their friends.”

“And when they mentioned something about you,” Momoka added. “We thought, ‘It’s impossible. She can’t be alive, can she?’”

She then chuckled and hugged her daughter. “Well, I guess our doubts were wrong.”

“And I must ask you something else,” Momoka added. “How did you come across the mutant brothers?” 

Mizuki took a deep breath and began. 

She started with how she met the brothers and April when she was after Mayhem to protect the vial from Draxum’s men and continued with how she had been helping Splinter train them to fight off Draxum later on. 

She then went on to tell them about Donnie and everything he is and did. She told them about how he and his brothers saved her from Draxum, about how he had helped her capture the oozesquitoes before they lost them again, everything else they did together to protect New York. 

“Donnie’s your boyfriend, huh?” Momoka raised a mischievous eyebrow at her. “And when can we expect a wedding date?” 

“Mama!” Mizuki blushed. “We’re only fifteen!” 

“Though he does sound like a worthy man,” Garrett added. “I’ve decided to give him my blessing for your hand in marriage in later years.” 

Mizuki blushed harder from her parents’ teasing and covered her face to prevent them from seeing her red cheeks. 

“But how are we going to get you all out of here?” She asked them, changing the subject. “The yokai police are looking for me right now.” 

“I suppose that’s a fair point,” Momoka said. “We’ve bumped into them before numerous times. We could easily lose them and find a way out of here.” 

“Well, Leo had accidentally made a portal for us to get to the Run of the Mill pizza place,” Mizuki explained. “There’s no way he would be able to make a new one without complications.” 

“True,” Garrett said before his eyes lit up. “But we can fight our way out of here. Using our traps.” 

Mizuki and Momoka looked at one another before glancing at the man with smirks. 

*****

The yokai police searched the vast land for any signs of the human intruders, without any success whatsoever. 

“Keep your eyes peeled, boys,” the captain ordered. “She could be anywhere.” 

One of the authorities stepped on something that crunched underneath his footing. He looked down, moving his foot gradually, and saw a button beeping rapidly. 

“What the—“ He gasped. 

The device exploded from the ground, engulfing the yokai police in sandy smoke. They coughed and tried to find their way through the sands. 

“Not again!” The captain groaned while hacking. 

Two slim figures zoomed around them, silver wiring shining from the light. They ran around the yokai officers until the wiring seemed to be close to their ankles. They then pulled them close, causing them to fall to the ground. 

“Got them!” Mizuki whispered. 

Garrett then threw some ball towards the unsuspecting yokai police. The spheres exploded and formed to gunk that trapped them. 

“Nice shot, Papa!” Mizuki cheered. 

“What can I say? Even in my forties, I still got some skills,” Garrett chuckled. 

“You little troublemakers!” The captain snarled. “I’m gonna get you, you hear me?!” 

“How about never?” Mizuki yelled back as she ran with her parents towards the mystic city. 

They were almost close to the hill that is close to the town when several more yokai officers blocked their path. The three humans yelped and skidded to a stop. 

The entire yokai police force soon had the humans surrounded, blocking their way out entirely. 

“You three humies have nowhere else to go now,” the captain laughed darkly. “Prepare to have your memories erased.” 

Momoka held Mizuki close to her, while Garrett stepped in front of the females. 

The younger girl closed her eyes tightly, waiting to meet her fate. 

A blue portal suddenly opened up between the yokai police and three humans. 

“What in the world?” Momoka gasped, astonished. 

“Get ready to jump!” Mizuki grabbed her parents’ hands. 

“But we don’t know what’s on the other side!” Garrett protested. 

“Willing to take that risk!” Mizuki replied as she ran with her parents. “Jump!” 

The three humans jumped through the portal, which closed just before the yokai police could catch them. 

The captain yelled in utter anger and raised his fists in the air, falling to his knees. “Why does this keep happening?!” 

The threesome fell through the portal and landed safely on the ground. 

Mizuki stopped. 

The concrete floor isn’t supposed to be wooden. Unless...

“Whoa, where’d you guys come from?” Leo?

She looked up and saw Leo in a white shirt and vest...and an eyepatch on his eye? 

He was standing on a plank and surrounded by mutant pirates, who are staring at them perplexed, as he glanced at between her and the other turtles, who were all piled up on one another...wearing Hawaiian shirts and lei necklaces? 

Mizuki then saw Bone-Man, who is fighting off the mutant pirates’ captain, dressed in a pirate outfit like Leo. 

“I mean, hey, check it out!” Leo laughed and raised his arms in the air. “I freed you all from your pirate prison! You’re welcome!”

“Pirate prison?” Raph rubbed the back of his head in confusion. 

“You portaled us to Tahiti!” Mikey clenched his fists, glaring at Leo. 

“The sewers there are fabulous!” Donnie said, holding a flag. 

Leo flipped up in the air over the pirate mutants and pulled out his sword. He stood in front of his glowering brothers and perplexed humans. 

“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon. Help us fight these guys!”

“No! I want a refill on my coconut!” Mikey held up an empty coconut bowl. 

“Take us back to Tahiti!” Raph demanded. 

“More Tahiti!” Donnie shook Leo by the shoulders. 

“It would get us out of this,” Leo pondered, then his eyes lit up with stars. “Okay. Tahiti, here we come!”

He swung his sword around, a bright, blue light appearing in front of the turtles, the three humans, and mutant pirates. 

The brothers and mutant pirates stared at the increasingly glowing light as the portal began to form. 

The three humans instantly hugged one another while the light of the portal engulfed the entire ship. Mizuki thought she heard the captain yell just as the portal grew to its glowing limit. 

The bright light soon disappeared. 

The turtles and humans opened their eyes to find the ship completely empty, apart from Bone-Man. 

“Oh, is this Tahiti?” Donnie sarcastically said and laid down on the deck floor. “Well, then allow me to make a sand angel in this lovely soft, wooden sand. Ouch.”

“Okay, not what I meant to do, but I got rid of the pirates,” Leo shrugged. 

A horn blared from above, followed by another voice. “You sure did!” 

The turtles, humans, and Bone-Man looked up and noticed another ship sailing towards them in the air. 

Two figures in blue uniforms steered the air-carrier towards the pirate ship. 

“Uh, we were, uh, bravely surveilling the situation and we saw what happened,” one of the guards said. “You’re a hero, Hueso.”

“Then I am off the most wanted list?” The skeleton mutant asked nervously. 

“Well, you are now,” the guard replied. 

“Ah, gracias, pepino,” Hueso turned to Leo and smiled at him gratefully, fist-bumping him. 

“No problem, bone man,” Leo smirked. 

“What do you suppose has become of my brother?” Hueso then asked, shrugging his shoulders. 

“Oh, I guarantee I sent him to the worst place possible,” Leo placed his sword over his shoulder. 

“I sure hope so,” Momoka mumbled. 

Mikey then saw her and Garrett standing with Mizuki and gasped in excitement. “Mizzy, are those your parents?” 

“I will explain after we get back to the real world,” Mizuki smiled. 

*****

Later on, the turtles and humans made their way back to the city and, after saying their farewells to Señor Hueso, headed back to Mizuki’s hideout. 

They didn’t forget to invite April, Mayhem, Splinter, and Yami so they could meet her parents as well. 

“Mama, Papa,” Mizuki gestured to the turtles, April and Splinter. “These are all my friends. Everyone, these are my parents, Momoka and Garrett.”

Mayhem disappeared from April’s arms and teleported from a bright light of blue, landing in Momoka’s arms. 

“And this is Mayhem,” Mizuki giggled. 

Mayhem licked Momoka in the cheek and purred, cuddling in her arms. 

“What a cute, little fella your friend has,” she chuckled. 

“Or girl, I think?” April added. “But we think Mayhem may be a guy.”

“I’ve seen one of these little guys before,” Garrett said, stroking Mayhem’s fur softly. “But we still don’t know what species he is as well.”

“Ohmigosh! Ohmigosh!” Mikey ran up to the two adults and hastily shook both their hands. “Mizzy’s told us a lot about you! I’m so happy to see you guys!”

“Mikey,” Mizuki giggled at his giddiness and rested her hand on his shoulder to calm him down. “I know it’s exciting, but please contain yourself.”

“And these are Leo and Raph,” she then gestured to the other two brothers. “Of course, Raph’s the oldest of the three.”

”An honor to meet you, ” Garrett bowed respectfully at the three along with his wife. 

”Same here,” Leo replied, while Ralph gave a toothy grin at them. 

Mayhem teleported back to April’s arms and squeaked delightfully. 

“April O’Neil,” Mizuki then gestured to April. “She’s friends with the turtles and Splinter.”

“To be honest, I have no idea that you guys were part of the Mystic Protectors,” the brown-haired girl remarked as she shook their hands. 

Momoka beamed warmly at April. “Well, it runs in the family.” 

“Hey, I’m Yami,” Yami stepped up next and shook their hands as well. 

“And Splinter, the turtles’ adoptive father,” Mizuki gestured to the rat mutant. 

“Mizuki has been waiting to find you after some years now,” Splinter grinned up at Momoka and Garrett. “You must have been very happy to see her again.” 

“She was happier than us,” Garrett added. “And I’m glad she finally found us.” 

His daughter stared up at him with a small grin. 

Mizuki and her parents finally turned to Donnie, who seemed to be sweating nervously underneath Garrett’s stares. The softshell turtle couldn’t tell if they are stern or dark, but he was really anxious about this. 

“Mama, Papa...this is Donnie, my boyfriend,” she finally said. 

Momoka and Garrett studied him for a moment as Donnie beamed nervously at them. This is his first meeting with her parents, and he really wanted to make a good impression. 

The blue-haired girl took his hand in her own and beamed up at her reassuringly. Out of the corner of his eye, he smiled back. 

“Um, hello, sir and ma’am,” Donnie held out his hand and chuckled anxiously. 

Garrett glanced down at his hand, then back up at him, before he instantly pulled him in and embraced him. Donnie gasped surprised at the sudden action. 

“Glad to see my daughter has found someone who loves her for herself,” Garrett chuckled heartedly. 

Mizuki smiled at her father and boyfriend bonding. Momoka giggled at her husband’s acceptance of Donnie. 

“She has told us a lot about you when we found her,” Garrett patted the soft-shell turtle on the shoulder. “You seem like an honorable man for her.” 

Donnie beamed sheepishly. “R-really? You mean that?” 

“Of course,” Momoka piped in. “Any friend of our daughter is a friend of our own.” 

Raph, Leo, and Mikey snickered at Donnie’s beaming face, while April and Yami nodded in approval. 

“So, who are we dealing with here?” Garrett asked. 

The teens, Yami, and Splinter glanced at one another before turning back to the two adults. 

“We need to prepare ourselves,” Mizuki said. “We’ve got a city to save.”


	34. Mizuki's Parents

Wanna see the drawing, head to here.   
https://www.wattpad.com/816922654-rise-of-the-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-from

\- Momoka was, and still is, part of the Mystic Protectors before she met Garrett. Three to four years later, they ended up married, with her leader's acceptance, and had Mizuki nearly a year later. 

\- Garrett and Momoka decided to fight off Draxum and left a three-year-old Mizuki with Jupiter, Momoka's good friend. The night before they left, Momoka sang her daughter a special lullaby that reminds her that they will always be here for her (think 'All is Found' from Frozen 2). 

\- Before the two adults could even finish off Draxum, he had sent them to the outskirts of the Hidden City. Momoka and Garrett, as said in 'Portal Jacked!', tried numerous times to get back to the human world so they could warn their people about the upcoming danger, but they were unable to do so until Mizuki came by 11 years later. 

\- Mizuki gained Momoka's looks and some of her personality (seriousness, bravery, and honesty), while she earned stubbornness and kindness from her father's side. 

That's all I got to say for now.


	35. Warren and Hypno, Sitting in a Tree

“Birthday girl, it’s your birthday. Birthday girl, it’s your birthday,” the turtles and Mizuki sang as they sat in the Turtle Tank, which is being driven down the streets of New York.

“I don’t know why you are even bothering,” April said, sitting next to Mizuki. “I told you guys my birthdays are always a disaster. It’s cursed.”

“Curse, smursh,” Leo chuckled. “We are gonna birthday so hard, you’re gonna need a permission slip.”

“April, how in the world could your birthdays be cursed?” Mizuki asked the brown-curled girl. “There’s no such thing as that. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

A hard object suddenly landed on the front of the Tank, causing it to stop abruptly and the teens to fall hard to the ground. They all groaned upon impact.

“What was that?” April asked.

Raph peeked out from the window and gasped.

“Raph? Is something the matter?” Mizuki got up from the floor when she heard him.

“Uh, nothing! Nothing, everything’s fine!” Raph laughed nervously. “Uh, be right back!”

He quickly got out of the Tank, with Mikey following behind him. Donnie, Leo, and Mizuki looked at one another, concerned.

“Okay, give it to me straight,” Donnie asked from inside the vehicle. “How bad is the damage?”

“Oh, it’s, uh, not that bad,” Raph lied.

“Oh, it’s real bad, real, real, real, real, real, real, real, real, real bad,” Mikey confirmed.

Donnie’s eye twitched out of fear, but Leo only stared at him unconcerned.

“See, I told you, my birthday was cursed,” April said, scrolling through her phone.

“Don’t be ridiculous, April,” Mizuki dismissed her claim. “Do you see me having bad luck on my birthdays?”

“Come on, relax,” Leo leaned back on his seat. “This is just a mini bump in the road, a hiccup.”

“Then why do you explain the hard hit in the engine and the sudden stop?” Mizuki raised an eyebrow at him.

“Well, there’s no way this night gets worse,” Leo added.

A loud explosion from outside the Tank resonated, followed by someone hitting the front of the vehicle, then another, more larger, landing on the engine.

“You had to jinx it, did you?” The blue-haired girl said deadpanned.

The loud thuds were then followed by the sounds of bricks hitting the concrete and lasers zapping all around the outside area.

“That can’t be good,” Donnie remarked.

Mizuki jumped out of the Turtle Tank and saw Draxum fighting off Hypno-Potamus and Warren Stone.

“Those guys again?!” She yelled.

Draxum dodged one of the mutant villains’ attacks and skidded across the ground before eying Raph, Mikey, and Mizuki.

“Oh, my turtles and Emerald Storm, how very not nice to see you,” Draxum greeted them sarcastically.

He shot open his vines from the concrete and aimed them towards the teens. The latter jumped out of the way in time before starting for Hypno-Potamus and Stone.

“April’s birthday really is cursed,” Raph said, lying on top of Mikey.

“Oh, my God, April’s birthday is not cursed!” Mizuki stated agitated.

“We cannot let her see this,” Mikey added.

“Yeah, we gotta get out of here,” Raph agreed.

The three climbed back on the top of the vehicle and jumped back in.

“Real quick, we just need to take care of this tiny, no-big-deal, non-life-threatening situation,” Raph said anxiously. “Then it’s on to April’s birthday fun.”

“Prepare to fire some cool weapons!” He ordered.

“Which ones?” Donnie reached for the controls of the Tank’s weapons.

“All of them,” Stone answered evilly.

The teens stared at him confused, with Mizuki having her mouth dropped open. He had the large gauntlet that the Foot Clan men tried to take back at the art museum.

“Okay, who is that, and how’d he get in here?” Leo asked.

April got up from the floor and gasped when she saw Stone. “Hold the phone!”

She popped up in front of Leo with a wide grin and stars in her eyes. “You’re Warren Stone! I’d recognize that hair anywhere!”

“Why, yes, I am,” Stone replied charismatically. “Are you a Stonehead?”

“That’s what I call my fans,” he told Donnie and Mizuki, who are both staring at him unimpressed.

“Member since 2010,” April sang the last word as she revealed her Stonehead cards beginning with her as a young child.

“Excellent,” Stone smiled. “Now by the power vested in me by my own fan club, I’m deputizing you to get my hippo roomie back.”

“Really? You’re going to listen to him?” Mizuki silently asked April.

The other girl raised a deadpanned eyebrow at her.

Donnie and Stone began to fight over the control panels of the Tank to get to Hypno-Potamus.

“Get off my console!” Donnie demanded.

“I’ll save you, Warren!” Hypno-Potamus landed on the windshield.

Donnie and Mizuki screamed at the mutant hippo’s sudden appearance and fell back, apart from Stone, who stared at him with big eyes.

Hypno-Potamus was suddenly grabbed by one of Draxum’s vines and pulled back. The Tank was abruptly lifted by the vines.

Mizuki yelped and tried to keep her balance. Donnie caught her in time and held her close to him.

“No!” Stone yelled and smashed the control console with the gauntlet. “Give him back!”

An alarm blared since he had destroyed the controls unintentionally.

“Oh, no!” Donnie shouted.

The Tank’s engine powered up and sped past Draxum and Hypno-Potamus. It got caught in the vines, which powered up even more to escape from their hold.

“Hypno!” Stone cried, reaching out to Hypno-Potamus.

Mizuki pulled him back in just as the Tank finally broke free of the vines’ grips and flew off down the streets.

“No! Hypno!” Stone struggled out of Mizuki’s grasp. “Let me go, you blueberry-haired…!”

“Hold on a moment,” she sternly told him. “We want answers from you first.”

*****

Mikey tied up Stone with his kusari-fundo on a light pole as the others stood there with their arms crossed.

“What does that thing do, and why does Draxum want it?” Mikey demanded, gesturing to the gauntlet trapped in the worm’s hand.

“I don’t know, but it’s amazing,” Stone answered and held up the gauntlet. “I call her Charlotte. She’s like a toupee, but for your fist.”

“That gauntlet is part of the dark armor,” Mizuki replied, pointing at the glove. “That’s why Draxum is after you and Hypno in the first place. We cannot let him get his hands on it.”

“Donnie, can you get it off of him so we can deliver it to the Mystic Rebels?” She turned to her boyfriend.

“Not a problem, my love,” Donnie kissed her on the cheek and flipped his bo staff around to reveal a variety of weapons. “Now to do some light removing of a thing attached to another thing.”

“What the? Donnie!” Leo exclaimed.

“It’s fine. He regenerates, remember?” Donnie added, glancing at his shocked brothers.

“Uh, no,” Leo replied unsure.

Stone closed his eyes as the weapons of Donnie’s bo staff got closer to him.

“Stop!” April stepped in front of him, and Donnie pulled back his bo staff. “This is a sign. Maybe this is finally the year my birthday is awesome!”

“Because we’ve got a worm man tied to a pole?” Leo slid up next to her with a smirk. “You need to raise your standards.”

Mizuki pulled him back by his shell and plopped him down beside her.

“This is my birthday,” April went on, her hands on her hips. “And Warren Stone is the GOAT of news anchors. We’ve gotta help him get his friend/roomie/it’s complicated back from Baron Draxum. It’s my birthday wish.”

The turtles groaned from her speech. Mizuki nodded in agreement after pondering for a moment.

“You’re invoking B-day rights on him?” Leo asked, pointing at Stone.

“He might be a villain, but so is Baron Sheep Man,” April reasoned. “And the enemy of your enemy is a—“

She stopped and instantly pointed at something behind them. “Monster!”

The teens turned around and saw a beast-like creature charging at them. They all screamed in terror, with Donnie standing in front of Mizuki protectively.

The creature plummeted to the concrete and fell apart to a pile of purple vines. The turtles and girls stood back up and stared at the pile. Leo kicked the piled up vines, which didn’t move.

“Is that a note from Draxum?” He noticed a rolled-up note was standing out from the vines.

“What, he couldn’t send an email?” Donne raised an eyebrow.

Mizuki rolled her eyes and picked up the note. She unrolled it open and she and April read it out loud for the turtles to hear.

“Give us the gauntlet or your kiwi friend becomes a smoothie. Let’s not be tacky and avoid a violent exchange...ie. Love, Huginn and Muninn.”

The girls gasped when they remembered about Hypno-Potamus being held hostage by Baron Draxum.

“You guys, we gotta help ‘em,” April said to the turtles.

“Hard pass,” Raph answered begrudgingly, his arms crossed over his chest.

They heard Stone whimpering from the light pole and noticed him staring at them with big, disheartened eyes.

“I know I’m a famous worm villain, but I need your help,” he pleaded with them. “When news fame left, so did everyone I knew. I was alone. I had nothing until I met a magician turned hippo, and my life changed. For my birthday, he baked me a tiny cake, and then magically jumped out of it. He almost crushed me when he slipped on frosting. He’s my brother. He’s my—“

“Fine. All right. Just please stop,” Raph said, his eyes filled with tears from hearing his story.

Leo was hugging Mikey while both of them were close to sobbing uncontrollably. April was leaning against Raph’s chest, with Mizuki patting her shoulders and consoling her. Donnie was the only one not crying, but instead scrolling through his phone and not listening to his story.

“We’ll get your roomie back,” Raph finally said through teary eyes.

*****

At the docks, the turtles, girls, and Stone located where Draxum and his gargoyle minions would be.

Stone stepped out into the light and faced the mutant scientist.

Huginn and Muninn lifted Hypno-Potamus’s head for him to see the worm mutant.

Meanwhile, the turtles and girls sped over Draxum silently.

“Tonight’s top story: I’m here to make your trade, Draxum,” Stone pointed at Draxum determinedly.

The turtles and girls stood on a machine and began to slide down on a line over the mutant maniac.

“Good,” Draxum nodded. “Now hand over the gauntlet.”

“It’s a trap!” Hypno-Potamus warned through the tape placed over his mouth.

“I love you, too,” Stone replied to him, unaware of the warning the latter was trying to tell him.

He then turned back to Draxum. “We could do that, or I could make you an even sweeter offer.”

“Ooh, like what?” Huginn asked delighted.

“A lifetime supply of gum?” Muninn asked next.

“No,” Stone replied. “How about your mutant loser turtles?”

“I brought them right here!” He pointed up at the turtles and girls, who are already hovering over where he and Draxum are standing.

“Wait, did he just give us up?” Donnie raised a shocked eyebrow.

“Don’t ask about something that is already happening,” Mizuki remarked to him.

Stone shot them down with the gauntlet and they both fell to the ground and groaned upon impact.

“Betrayal!” Leo stood up, just before a vine cage trapped them in. “I feel like we should have seen that coming.”

“How could you do this? And on my birthday!” April asked Stone angrily and pulled her jacket off to reveal a human Warren Stone’s human face on the front of her shirt. “I was the Vice President of the Stoneheads!”

Stone exhaled on the fist of the gauntlet, blowing some smoke away. “And he thanks you for your service.”

“Whoa,” Draxum chuckled. “You drive a hard bargain. But it’s a deal.”

“Free him,” he ordered his minions.

Huginn and Muninn pulled off the tape of Hypno-Potamus’s mouth and threw him in front of Stone.

The worm mutant jumped up on his shoulder and hugged him. “Tonight’s headline: best friends reunited and it feels—“

“I’m so sorry,” Hypno-Potamus pulled him back to face him. “It was the only way he’d let you live.”

Mizuki got up from the ground with Donnie helping her and tilted her head perplexed.

“Oh, mezmeroo!” Hypno-Potamus commanded in a heartbreaking tone.

Stone fell into a trance, drooling a bit.

“Oh, give them the gauntlet, my golden-voiced amigo,” Hypno-Potamus set him down.

The worm mutant gradually crawled towards Draxum while still in the trance.

“Oh, man, a double betrayal,” Leo chuckled. “Did not see that coming.”

“Really, Leo?” Mizuki raised an unamused eyebrow at him.

“You get the gauntlet and the turtles and Warren lives,” Hypno-Potamus told Draxum, who picked up Stone. “That was our deal, right?”

“Yeah, no. I lied,” Draxum revealed.

He thrusted his hand at Hypno-Potamus and lifted him with his vines.

“Triple betrayal!” Leo exclaimed. “Everybody’s on fire tonight!”

The cage was then lifted from the ground, leaving the teens on the air.

“But you said—you promised!” Hypno-Potamus pleaded with Draxum.

“Only a true genius could choreograph this many betrayals and double-crosses,” the latter smiled proudly.

“I mean, it was a total team effort,” Muninn stated.

“I am blushing,” Huginn gushed.

“I was talking about me, you idiots!” Draxum harshly said.

He then placed Stone on a table and trapped him in his vines. “Now to do some light removing from a thing attached to another thing.”

“Hey, he stole my line!” Donnie gritted his teeth.

“Classic April O’Neil birthday: trapped in a cage, betrayed by my idol, and facing certain doom,” April gloomily remarked.

“Look on the bright side: we’re trapped in a cage, having been betrayed by your idol, facing certain doom together.”

The others stared at him as crickets chirped in the background.

“Hey, I’m trying my best here,” Raph said.

Rings flew up and started to cut the vines of the cage.

“Huh?”

“Hmm?”

“What…?”

A top hat was flipped up into the air and smoke appeared following a small explosion.

“Ta-da!”

No one seemed to appear at the moment. Raph and Mikey looked at one another confused.

“Wait, almost there,” Hypno-Potamus said.

He flew up close to where the turtles and girls are with his doves carrying him. “Allow me to help.”

“Okay, cowboy,” Donnie pushed down Raph in the front, glowering at the hippo mutant. “I don’t know what kind of double triple betrayal you’ve got planned, but we’re not interested.”

“I’ve got nothing up my sleeve,” Hypno-Potamus reasoned. “I promise.”

Cards shot out from his sleeve and hit Donnie in the face. He yelled in pain and stumbled back, holding his eyes.

Mizuki glared at Hypno-Potamus, who chuckled sheepishly, while she held her boyfriend tenderly by the arm.

The turtles also glared at him distrustfully.

“Please, you must save Warren,” Hypno-Potamus pleaded with them. “Look, I—I’m a terrible roomie. I—I—I cheat on the chore chart. He pretends not to notice, but he does. I know he does.”

April looked up at him before eyeing Stone and Draxum about to cut off the gauntlet.

“April…” Mizuki warned carefully.

“I just can’t quit you, Warren Stone,” April muttered to herself.

“To be clear, we’re doing this for April because it’s her birthday,” Raph sternly told Hypno-Potamus.

The rings finally cut off the vines of the cage and the teens swooped down from above, just as Draxum was ready to slice off the gauntlet of Stone.

Hypno-Potamus threw one of his rings at his makeshift saw blade, cutting it off in the process.

“Step away from my roomie,” he commanded Draxum.

Mizuki leaped up in the air behind and knocked him down with a wooden plank. She then scooped up the still hypnotized Stone and ripped him free from the vines.

“Let’s get out of here! Hurry!” She called.

Draxum instantly grabbed the gauntlet and pulled the two back, with Huginn and Muninn helping him. She shrieked and skidded across the floor while trying to pull Stone to her by his arm.

“I gotcha, babe!” Donnie exclaimed, grabbing her by the waist.

“We’re here, Mizzy!” Leo shouted as he and the others took Mizuki’s lower body.

The mutants and girls are trapped in a tug-of-war until Stone’s arm with the gauntlet began to rip from his body.

“We can’t stretch him any further!” Raph grunted.

April picked up one of Hypno-Potamus’s rings and sliced off the arm with the gauntlet. “April O’Neil.”

The teens and Stone both screamed as they fell backward to the ground.

Hypno-Potamus searched around until he noticed him on his head and hugged him relieved.

The teens got back up and gasped in terror.

“Finally, another piece of the dark armor,” Draxum chuckled evilly, but then gagged as he removed Stone’s discard arm. “Ew, gross.”

A portal opened up in front of him as he said it.

“New victory dance,” Muninn blew a raspberry at the teens and adult mutants.

“With extra butt action,” Huginn wagged his butt at them mockingly.

The three villains disappeared through the portal, which closed a second later.

Mizuki slammed her fist on the ground and grunted with frustrated. April, meanwhile, sighed in relief and wiped her forehead.

“How’d you know about our old trick?” Hypno-Potamus pulled her in and asked her.

“What old trick?” April asked back.

Stone suddenly screamed in pain and wriggled around before a new, smaller arm appeared on his side.

“I’m fine,” he nonchalantly said.

He gasped when he saw the gauntlet missing. “Charlotte, my power!”

“You’ve made a grave mistake,” he growled at April. “You are on my list.”

“It was you or the gauntlet,” she replied. “And to some, well, you’re kind of a big deal.”

“I will haunt your dreams,” Stone threatened her.

Mizuki stood up from the ground and stared him down sternly. “The least you could do is say ‘thank you’, rather than being upset about something you believe to be precious.”

“That’s my Warren,” Hypno-Potamus nuzzled his snout against the worm’s face. “Oh, it’s good to have you back, roomie/magical assistant/friend.”

He smooched him on the cheek before raising his arm. “Doves!”

The doves flew in again and picked him up before flying off.

“Let’s go make fun of game show contestants on TV,” Hypno-Potamus suggested as they flew off.

“April, so about your birthday,” Raph slid up next to April and chuckled nervously. “We’re really sorry we weren’t the ones to break the curse, and, uh—“

“Happy birthday,” Donnie shot up and held up Stone’s discarded arm to her.

She took the arm before smiling widely and jumped in the air. “Best birthday ever!”

Mizuki was about to speak up again, but decided against it and sighed, shaking her head happily at the other girl.


	36. Operation: Normal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas, everyone!

At the Run of the Mill pizzeria, the girls and Leo and Donnie conversed about something that had happened recently until Yami came along with their orders.

“Alright, guys, here’s the Super Creepy Supreme...” She set down a pizza with blue slug-like creatures.

“And here’s a small,” she placed a dish in front of Mizuki and April.

“Thanks, Yami,” Mizuki acknowledged her.

“Any time, squirt,” Yami saluted her before heading off.

“Is that pizza looking at me?” April said uncertainly at Donnie and Leo’s pizza.

“Eat us, we are delicious,” the slugs said in monotone.

“I’ll share mine with you,” Mizuki handed her the normal pizza while taking a slice.

“Thanks,” April took the slice while smiling gratefully at her.

“What? You won’t eat the Super Creepy Supreme?” Donnie asked her.

“I wish just once we could go to a normal pizza spot,” she explained.

“Well, we could, but the moment the boys head out in public light, there’s a good chance the authorities will catch them,” Mizuki reasoned.

“Yeah. And you know we can’t go into human places with, uh, this whole situation,” Leo gestured to himself. “Embrace it, April, you’re just a magnet for weirdness.”

“I know, it’s just sometimes a girl just needs normal—ugh!” April wrinkled her nose as she watched the two turtles eat their pizza.

“What do you mean? What’s not normal about this?” Donnie implied, his mouth full of pizza.

“Yeah, I was a bit grossed out at first,” Mizuki whispered to her.

The boys and Mizuki saw something happening on the opposite side of them and lifted up their menus hastily.

“Here, you’ll need this,” the blue-haired girl handed her another menu.

“Why?” April asked her.

“Okay, birthday boy, get ready to...Party!” A green yokai with a bow tie danced around on a diner table.

He then exploded and splattered over the birthday guests and the turtles and girls, who still had their menus up for protection.

The guests cheered happily, as the boys and Mizuki laughed and set down their menus.

“Aw, Exploding Frankie never gets old,” Donnie chuckled.

“You okay there, April?” Mizuki asked the brown-skinned girl.

“Yeah, I’m good,” the latter nodded.

She sighed and got up from her seat. “I’m going to class. Thanks for sharing your pizza with me, Miz.”

“Of course,” Mizuki nodded.

As they watched April walk off, the turtles glanced at one another and shrugged.

*****

“Donnie, Leo, don’t you think that maybe we should let April have a normal day?” Mizuki asked them.

“How do you mean, sweetheart?” Donnie implied.

They hid out in the alleyways of the city later that night. But Mizuki still couldn’t get April’s wishes about having a normal day out of her head.

“You know, no battling mutants, no venturing down into the Mystic Hidden City, no hunting down oozesquitoes,” she explained. “I mean, that’s what April wants, right?”

The two glanced at one another, then back at her.

“Hey, speaking of whom...” Leo gestured down to a head of brown curls walking down the sidewalk.

He and Mizuki appeared from behind the trash cans, leaving Donnie to hang upside down on the fire escape ladder.

“What the—?” April yelped in fright.

“April, you got to come,” Leo said to her. “Mikey found some invisibility paint, we’re gonna put it on Dad’s tail.”

“That is, if I try to stop them from doing anything dumb,” Mizuki added.

April laughed, placing her hands in her jacket pockets. “I love you guys, and def send me pics, but now that school’s over, I’m just gonna chill and have a nice, normal day.”

“Scoff. Are you really still on this whole ‘I want things to be normal’ kick?” Donnie asked her from the ladder, making air-quotes.

“Uh, what are these for?” April asked back, making the air quotes like him. “I am normal.”

“What about that one time we chased down the Purple Dragons when they stole Donnie’s tech?” Mizuki crossed her arms in front of her chest with a smug smirk. “And when you guys fought off Draxum when you were rescuing me and Mayhem? And let’s not forget about that one time you paddled down in the sewers and wearing a hazmat suit.”

“Exactly, what big city girl doesn’t have a kayak and hazmat suit?” Donnie smirked.

“Look, guys, just because I love the bonkers, doesn’t mean I don’t want normal sometimes, too,” April added.

“I mean, you could try, but it’ll be easier for everyone involved if you just admit you’re a total weirdo magnet,” Leo told her.

“I’ve got non-weirdo friends, like—like my new friend, Sunira. Su—Suneera—“

“Sunita?” Mizuki finished for her.

“How’d you know?” April raised an eyebrow.

“Just a wild guess,” she answered.

“Well, that’s who I’m texting to see if she wants to hang out later,” April texted on her phone, then lit up with excitement. “And she does. Hah! In your face.”

She danced off while laughing mockingly at the brothers.

“You see what I mean, now?” Mizuki glanced at the two guys.

Leo got up from the ground and stood proudly. “Then it’s up to her three totally not weirdo friends to make her having a normal day happen.”

Donnie fell off from the ladder and yelled in pain.

“Are you okay?” Mizuki asked him worried.

He gave her a thumbs-up while still lying on the concrete back flat. “I’m good.”

The three teens hid behind the bushes and watched April and Sunita from their hiding places. Donnie sneaked a peek through the binoculars while Mizuki held a periscope.

The turtles are dressed up in elderly women's clothes, with Donnie wearing a yellow bandana on his head, a wig, a purple coat, shirt and skirt with slippers, and Leo wearing another wig, blue shirt and skirt and a pink shawl. Mizuki wore her school outfit before she, April and Donnie battled the Purple Dragons.

“Why do you always make us dress up as old ladies?” Leo asked his brother annoyed. “And how come she doesn’t get to dress up like us?”

“Number one, comfort. Number two, to blend in as we monitor April’s day for max normalcy,” Donnie replied to him. “And number three, because Mizzy’s already too beautiful to be in an old lady disguise.”

“I’d like to keep the compliments down to a minimum for a while now, please,” Mizuki smirked at him while blushing lightly.

“And aren’t you going to tell April that you knew Sunita from Exploding Frankie?” Leo questioned her.

“Because he’s her dad? Maybe later,” Mizuki replied.

April nearly gave away her times hanging with the turtles and Mizuki to Sunita and replaced them with something else.

“Way to be smoothly normal, April,” Mizuki said under her breath.

“How’s she doing, Hortense?” Leo asked.

“She almost blew it, Patty,” Donnie said as he looked through the binoculars. “Oh, fab-o boots. And that is Donnie and Hortense talking.”

“Let me see,” Mizuki was handed the binoculars and saw April’s new friend wearing silver-colored boots.

She gasped amazed. “Wow, they seemed…interesting.”

Handing them back to Donnie, she studied the boots further and narrowed her eyes.

They looked somehow…similar to the dark armor…

“Hold on, what do we got here?” Leo grabbed Donnie’s hand that is holding up the binoculars.

“You shall not pass!” The trash wizard from the chase with Ghostbear declared dramatically as he stepped in front of a few people.

“That guy again!” Mizuki groaned annoyed.

“Oh, no, you know how April freaks out around cosplay wizards!” Donnie realized in horror.

“Operation Normal to the rescue,” Leo said determinedly.

“Let’s go!” Mizuki said.

The three teens headed off in different directions. Leo threw the binoculars at a pigeon on the rock, sending it flying away.

April and Sunita turned around just in time for Donnie to fly the yelling trash wizard from the two girls.

Mizuki led the terrified people safely from where the trash wizard used to be before April and Sunita turned around again and shrugged.

“OMG, what is that?” Sunita grabbed April, who instantly panicked.

“What is it?!” The other girl yelled.

She stopped when she saw Sunita gesturing to a pretzel cart and sighed relieved. “Oh, a pretzel cart? Have you ever had a genuine New York street pretzel?”

“No,” Sunita chuckled. “But can I now? Please, please, please, please?”

“Oh, it is on,” April replied.

The two girls walked to the pretzel cart, where the Foot Brute and Recruit are wearing vendor disguises and waiting for them.

“Oh, no!” Mizuki gasped.

She quickly rushed to where the Foot people are and pulled them into the bushes. The leaves rustled greatly as she fought them off until she had managed to knock them out. She instantly popped up behind the cart in the Foot Recruit’s vendor disguise and added a fake mustache, her hair hidden underneath the cap.

She cleared her throat before speaking in a man’s voice. “Get your pretzels! Get them in yellow or dark yellow!”

April and Sunita rushed up to the pretzel cart and started choosing their pretzels. The puffy-haired girl squinted her eyes at Mizuki and nearly lost her cool when Mizuki winked at her.

“What are you doing here?” April whispered to her desperately.

“Oh, what a nice man,” Sunita noticed Mizuki and smiled. “Are you two friends?”

“No, that’d be weird,” April said nervously and led her away from the pretzel cart. “Not that I don’t like nice men. My uncle’s a nice man. Let’s go get pizza.”

Mizuki watched them walk off and sighed content.

“That was close,” she said as she removed the fake mustache.

“Mizzy! Everything okay?” Donnie and Leo rushed up to her in worry.

“The Foot, they’re after April and Sunita,” Mizuki explained quickly. “I think they might want to do something bad to them.”

“Well, we can’t let them ruin April’s normal day,” Leo said with determination. “Let’s go!”

*****

The three teens soon located the pizza where April and Sunita are eating. They hid up on the statue and studied them cautiously.

“Operation Pizza, subset of Operation Normal is going great,” Donnie reported.

“Uh, I wouldn’t be so sure,” Leo said nervously.

They noticed the Foot Brute and Foot Recruit hiding behind tables where April and Sunita are sitting outside.

“Operation Normal just went defcon red alert,” Leo growled.

“They usually go by number, but, uh, let’s move,” Donnie added.

“Right behind you,” Mizuki smirked.

The teens fought off the two Foot people, while Mizuki occasionally made sure that April and Sunita are still occupied.

“Why do we always keep bumping into you guys?!” Mizuki yelled as she blocked the Foot Recruit’s attack before kicking her in the stomach.

“Mizzy!” April called and waved her over from behind the restaurant.

The blue-haired girl nodded before dodging the Recruit’s attack again and throwing her over her shoulder. She quickly ran to where April is hiding behind the restaurant.

“Are you doing okay?” April asked her worried.

“Never been better,” Mizuki nodded.

“Good, good, now, um,” April said calmly. “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but…”

“Are you following me?!” She yelled, a vein about to pop on her head.

“Look, April, I’m going to be honest here,” Mizuki explained while trying not to be frightened by her anger. “Donnie, Leo and I are making sure you get to have a normal day with Sunita, but the Foot people are after you and we’re doing everything we can to keep them away from you. We’re going to fight somewhere else where we won’t bother you, okay?”

April sighed and stared back at her with grateful, yet pleading eyes. “Alright, just please, fight somewhere else.”

“We won’t let you down,” Mizuki nodded.

April smiled at her before heading back inside the restaurant.

The Foot Recruit suddenly kicked Mizuki in the face and they started battling one another again.

*****

“Why does it have to be here, out of all places?” Mizuki groaned annoyed and avoided the Foot Recruit’s kick.

The three teens are now fighting off the Foot people at the Lazerdome, where April and Sunita are playing a game of laser tag.

April skidded around the corner and glared at the two girls agitated. “Again? Come on, Mizzy. Ruining my normal day and laser tag? Laser tag is sacred.”

“Beyond sacred. How could you?” Foot Recruit glared at Mizuki.

“Look, I know I told you we’re helping you have a normal day and we’re making sure nothing bad goes wrong, but they keep following you everywhere you guys go,” Mizuki explained while putting the Recruit on a head hold.

“That’s what you think we’re doing?” Foot Recruit snickered before continuing to fight Mizuki.

She kicked her up in the air, and Mizuki landed beside April, who stepped out of the way in time.

“Okay, look, I’m gonna help you kick their butts,” she rubbed the bridge of her nose. “And then you guys got to go. Deal?”

“Deal,” Mizuki gave her a fist bump, smiling, and flipped herself back up. “Operation Normal is about to get un-normal and then go back to normal.”

April and Mizuki began to fight off Foot Recruit, leaving Donnie and Leo to fend off the Foot Brute.

At one point, they were able to get the enemies away from April and Sunita before the two girls ran off to hide somewhere. The Foot Brute suddenly picked up Mizuki and threw her towards her wall, prompting her to scream and grunt upon impact.

“Hey!” Donnie snarled, but he was knocked down and stomped on by the Recruit.

She heard Sunita babble and looked up just in time to find a green Yokai soaring in the air before exploding. She covered herself as much as she could, while the Recruit and Brute are covered in green gunk and landed on the ground.

Donnie quickly rushed over to Mizuki and tenderly helped her up. “You okay?”

“Apart from a concussion that may come up soon? I’m okay,” she answered.

“April, what happened? Where’s Sunita?” Leo asked.

April smiled and gestured to the green gunk surrounding her.

“Ah! She’s in puddles!” Donnie exclaimed terrified. “April, it is not normal to liquify your friends!”

“Yeah,” April replied and pointed down to the floor again.

The green blobs got back together and merged into a feminine form, who pressed something on the side of her chest and changed back to human.

“She’s like Exploding Frankie,” Leo laughed. “It never gets old. I love it.”

“Hah, so, I guess you never stop being a weirdo magnet after all, huh, April?” Donnie remarked.

“You know what? I don’t need to be normal. For me, weird is normal, and I am so cool with that,” April smiled.

“As a fellow weirdo, I concur,” Sunita agreed.

“Hey, fake pearls. You’re standing on my toe schmootz,” she said to Donnie. “I need that to fully reform my—whoa.”

“What’s wrong?” Mizuki asked her worried.

“Hey, where are my boots?” Sunita stared down at her feet.

Mizuki and Donnie both realized that the Foot people had taken the boots while they were distracted before staring back at her.

“Sunita, please understand this,” she said to her. “It’s about to be serious.”


	37. Sparring Partner

Leo soared up in the air on his skateboard, with Mikey, Donnie, and Mizuki watching him. 

“So anything from the Mystic Protectors yet?” Donnie asked his girlfriend. 

“They’re looking for the armor pieces all over New York,” she reported to him. “They’ll let us know when they need us.” 

“And how are your parents doing? I bet they’re adjusting to life back on the surface,” Mikey added. 

“They’re doing amazingly well,” Mizuki beamed. 

And she knew it’s true. 

A few days after Garrett and Momoka had come back from the Hidden City, the Mystic Protectors had been astounded, yet exhilarated that they are still alive after their last battle with Draxum ten years ago. With reassurances from Mizuki and Jupiter, they were able to find their calmness and live back with the Mystic Protectors. 

A loud boom echoed from the garage, and the four teens screamed with fright from the loud noise. 

“Wha…?” Donnie raised a questioning eyebrow. 

“Boom shakalaka,” Mikey remarked. “Did that come from the Tank garage?” 

“No, no, no, no. No, there’s definitely nothing wrong with my tank because it for sure doesn’t backfire for no reason whatsoever sometimes.” 

Another boom resonated from the garage. 

“Oh, you think so?” Mizuki asked him. 

They headed down to the garage where the booms are coming from. Leo knocked on the garage door, only for Raph to cheer wildly. 

“Whoo-hoo! That’s the stuff!” 

“Raph, is that you in there?” Mizuki called. 

“No—I mean, yes,” Raph answered. “Why would I speak and then it not be me?” 

He laughed nervously. “One sec.” 

Mizuki and Donnie looked at one another and shrugged. 

Loud clattering came from behind the garage door before it was lifted open by the snapping turtle from underneath the floor. 

“Hey, it’s my brothers and friend,” Raph sweated. “What brings you all to the lair?” 

“Hah!” The three others pushed up the door and scanned the garage area. 

“What was all that noise?” Leo asked suspiciously. 

“What noise?” Raph asked on the floor. 

“Was that just you setting up our next sparring session?” Leo studied the dummies scattered around the garage. 

“Sure, yeah,” Raph got up from the floor and chuckled. “It was that and nothing else.”

“Sweet. I could go for a game of capture the bandana,” Mikey wrapped an arm around Leo. 

“Usual rules, first to grab a bandana other than his own color is the winner,” Donnie beamed. 

They ran to their starting positions, while Mizuki leaned against the wall to watch the game. 

“Uh, I’m not really in the mood to play a game,” Raph rubbed the back of his head. 

“Then why all the dummies around the garage?” Mizuki asked him, raising an eyebrow. 

He blinked before laughing anxiously. “Oh, that’s right. I—I am in the mood.” 

“Dude, what is with you?” Donnie asked, his hands on his hips. 

“Donnie versus Raph! Go!” Mikey blew an airhorn into his ear. 

“Taste my bandana fury!” Donnie whipped out his bo staff and charged at Raph. 

He poked his staff at his plastron, but it didn’t seem to affect him. He did it again a few times before Raph pretended to be dead. 

“Whoa. Donnie, you are so strong,” he flatly said and fell to the floor, his hand over his forehead. 

“A quadruple threat, my friend,” Donnie smirked victoriously and took the red bandana off one of the dummies. “Strong, funny, amusing and hilarious.” 

“Also to me, by the way,” Mizuki called while blushing lightly. 

Donnie smiled back at her, his cheeks light red as well. 

“Kind of look like Raph took a dive,” Leo pondered, drinking a cup of tea. 

Mikey was holding a bag of popcorn and a purple flag. 

“Please, Leo, you forgot Einstein’s Law of Brains over Brawn,” Donnie slid up next to him, smirking smugly. 

“Right. That,” Raph quickly got up and gently shoved his brothers and Mizuki out of the garage. “Uh, okay, good game, then.” 

He chuckled before closing the garage door. The three other turtles and Mizuki glanced at one another confused. 

“What do you suppose has gotten into him?” She asked them. 

“No clue,” Donnie replied, tapping his chin. “But whatever he’s doing...we might as well let him be.” 

“But what if he gets himself hurt from whatever he is doing?” She stepped in front of him. 

“Then we’ll fix him up,” he shrugged before wrapping an arm around her. “That’s only one thing we need to worry about for now.” 

Later on, Mizuki got back towards the garage where Raph was busy with his ‘bandana game’. She pressed her ear against the door to hear the racket going on. 

Loud groaning came from the other side, but it didn’t sound like Raph whatsoever. 

She glanced at the other door beside the first one and stepped through without the snapping turtle noticing her. 

That’s when she saw Raph fixing up a leg belonging to a figure with tape. 

A large figure with a Foot Clan marking on his face and wearing a red and gray outfit. 

She let out a terrified gasp, which caught Raph and the figure’s attention. The snapping turtle instantly got up and clasped her mouth with his finger. 

“Don’t scream,” he whispered to her frantically. “Whatever you do, don’t panic.”

“How can I stay calm when there’s a giant creature standing there?” Mizuki asked him, her words muffled due to her mouth being closed. 

“He’s a nice guy, I swear,” Raph reasoned with her. “See? He’s cool.” 

The figure giggled in a low tone and walked over to where Raph and Mizuki are standing. She nearly freaked out when the creature picked her up and spun her around, hugging her. 

He then nuzzled his face over her head, and Mizuki gradually calmed down because of his good nature. 

“See? He likes you,” Raph smiled. 

“I guess he does,” she giggled. 

The creature set her back down, and by the look of his eyes, he beamed at her. 

“So, he’s from the Foot Clan?” She studied his build and clothing. 

“Apparently, the poor guy ran away from them, and I found him,” Raph explained. “But I couldn’t even tell the others about it. Who knows what they’ll do if they find out.” 

“I see,” she nodded in understanding. “He somehow reminds of Frankenstein from that movie.” 

“Buddy!” The creature exclaimed excitedly. 

“Come on, Raph, aren’t you skating?” Leo called for outside. 

Raph and Mizuki turned towards the door before turning back towards the creature. 

“Great game, but we got to go, bye-bye,” he gently pushed Frankenfoot in the closet. “We’ll tussle again tomorrow.” 

“Buddy,” the creature said in a low tone. 

“We’re terribly sorry, Buddy, but you can’t come,” Mizuki explained to him. 

Frankenfoot moaned solemnly. 

“I know, I know, we’ll miss you, too,” Raph nodded. “And remember, keep it down. If my brothers find you, you’ll be confetti before you can say…” 

He made a moaning noise at the end of the sentence and a zombie's face. 

Frankenfoot moaned in reply. 

“Exactly,” Mizuki agreed. 

“Buddy,” Frankenfoot groaned. 

Raph closed the door before more could be said from him. 

“Are you sure he’ll be fine in here?” Mizuki asked him. 

“Yeah, though I do feel bad about leaving him,” he replied. “Let’s just get back to the guys before they notice.” 

The two didn’t see a hand crawling up the table and grab a bottle of glue. 

*****

At the skating area, Leo did some tricks on his skateboard, with the others watching him. 

“You know what I just remembered?” Mikey added. “How much I hate paper ninjas. I must suddenly remember I hate those guys like 20 times a day.” 

Mizuki could see Raph flinch out of the corner of her eye. 

“Oh, indeed, I’ve been working on a shredding attachment for the next time we cross paths!” Donnie whipped out his bo staff and transformed it to a weed hacker-like machine and laughed maniacally. 

“Whoa! Donnie! Way too close, honey!” Mizuki gasped and backed away. 

Raph shrieked from the sight of the weed hacker and laughed anxiously. “Sure glad none of our close personal friends are made out of paper.” 

He and Mizuki saw something fall from the ceiling and gasped in fright. 

Leo skidded down the ramp on his skateboard, but then tripped over the glue gunk and yelled, crashing into the ground. 

Mizuki yelped and covered her mouth, while the guys winced at the sudden fail. She and Raph then looked up and saw Frankenfoot giggling and spraying the glue bottle over his wrist. 

“Huh, there appears to be some gunk on the ramp,” Donnie inspected the glue chunk. “Perhaps we should crane our necks upward to see from whence it came.” 

The other three turtles went to look up, but Raph and Mizuki held their heads down as fast as they could. 

“I looked. It must’ve come from down here. Definitely not from any place above,” Raph chuckled nervously. 

Frankenfoot’s hand fell off and plummeted towards where the brothers and Mizuki are standing. 

Raph jumped up and caught it in time. Mizuki, meanwhile, went off somewhere without her boyfriend or the others noticing, luckily. 

“What is with you today? Why are you so crazy?” Mikey asked him suspiciously. 

Raph chuckled uneasily as the hand began to pull on his bandana tail. “I’m not crazy. You’re crazy—ah!” 

He slid up to the others hastily. “Say, how about we all hang out in our rooms alone for three to five minutes?”   
“Come on.” 

“Dude, we are skating.” 

Mizuki, meanwhile, caught Frankenfoot’s attention by waving a red fabric around and signaled for him to stay quiet. He nodded excitedly and jumped down from above the railings and landed on the skating area with a thud. He then followed after her as she led him away from the others as quietly as possible. 

“Uh, you’re right. We should hang out right here and never look at what’s behind us,” Raph grabbed his brothers in a tight hug. 

Mizuki sighed in relief and continued to lead Frankenfoot away from the others as Raph stayed behind distracting his brothers. 

*****

Later that night, Mizuki saw that she is far from the lair and handed Frankenfoot the red bandana. He giggled and played with the fabric. 

“Oh, that was so close,” she exhaled before turning to the Foot creature. 

His hand came back to him and he picked it up and waved it around while laughing. 

“Yes, hello to you, too, Buddy,” she smiled at him. 

She paused when she realized that the others might be looking for her right now. If they find her here, they’ll find Frankenfoot as well. She can’t let it happen. 

“Buddy, you must understand this,” she started to speak to him. “Raph and I do not mean to drive you away from our home, but his brothers do not trust the clan you came from. They see you, they will turn you into paper dust.” 

Frankenfoot tilted his head, a solemn groan leaving from his hidden mouth. 

“I don’t mean Raph and I,” Mizuki went on. “We love you as you are, but his brothers, one as my boyfriend, they see you as an enemy. I have to lead you away for your safety.” 

Frankenfoot whimpered and moaned sadly. His eyes were seen to be filled with tears about to burst. 

“Buddy, please, don’t be devastated,” she went to place her hand on his arm. 

He stepped away from her and leapt from the roof of the building.   
“Buddy, wait!” She shouted, reaching out to him. 

He only jumped from roof to roof until he was no more than a speck of dust. 

She sighed devastated and facepalmed. “Oh, God, what have I done?” 

Raph landed on the roof where she is standing and found only her alone. “Mizzy?” 

She turned around and saw him walking towards her. “Raph, I am so sorry. Buddy’s gone.” 

“What?!” 

“I tried to explain to him about your brothers, but he just thought we hated him now.” 

“We’ll find him,” the snapping turtle reassured her. “He’s just gotta be around here somewhere.”   
“There you are,” Leo said from behind them. 

They yelped and spun around to find him and the others staring at them unamused. 

“What’s up with all the secrecy?” The blue-masked turtle asked them. 

“Brothers, what are you guys doing?” Raph asked back. 

“Hold that thought,” Donnie landed beside Mizuki and pulled down his goggles. “We got a little situation going on.” 

The others joined him as screams of civilians rang across the city. 

When Raph and Mizuki recognized a long figure in a gray and red outfit attacking people with red and black fabrics of any kind, their hearts dropped to the pits of their stomachs. 

“A paper ninja?!” Mikey exclaimed. 

“And he’s only attacking people in red and black bandanas,” Leo observed. “Huh, it’s like someone who has a red and black armor really hurt this guy’s feelings once. Strange.” 

Mizuki cringed at the mention of her armor and felt tears about to storm her eyes. 

“Dibs on shredding him!” Mikey yelled and jumped off the roof railing. 

“What? No!” Leo shook his fist and picked up his sword. “We only call dibs on pizza, skate ramps, and Donnie’s stuff.” 

“Hey!” Donnie said, letting his girlfriend sit on his hover shell, and followed after them. 

Raph ran beside them soon after. “Maybe we shouldn’t shred him at all, you know? That seems fair, right?” 

“Raph’s out!” Mikey landed on his head. “Dibs on his share of confetti. And dibs on Donnie’s stuff.” 

“Hey!” Donnie yelled again. 

*****

They soon located him at a bandana store and found him shredding up red and black clothes all over the place. 

“Confetti-abunga!” Mikey exclaimed, and the three turtles charged at him. 

Raph collided with them and they both fell to the floor. 

“What are you doing?!” Mikey asked annoyed. 

“Come on, what is happening?” 

“I, uh, changed my mind. Um, I’m calling dibs,” Raph said and got off the others. 

He and Mizuki approached the Foot creature. 

“Buddy, listen to me, you’ve got to get out of here, now,” Mizuki pleaded with him. 

“No, not buddy,” Frankenfoot shook his head solemnly. 

A shrill boom appeared from the side of the three, and they spun around to find the Foot Lieutenant staring down at them unimpressed. 

“You!” The Lieutenant glared at them. “You all really need a hobby.” 

“You need one more than any of us!” Mizuki retorted at him back. 

“Oh, we got one. Kicking butt and taking names,” Leo remarked. “And you are?” 

The Foot Recruit created a larger hole underneath the Lieutenant. “Don’t make us pulverize your guts into guts bits.” 

“Give us back our origami man!” She demanded, getting close to Leo’s face. 

“Of course, he was yours,” Mizuki stepped protectively in front of Leo while glaring at her. “But now, he seems more like a free agent, so why don’t you all go home now?!” 

“Ha, she gets it!” Raph laughed. 

“We will do nothing of the sort,” the Recruit snarled at her. “You are so not reading our tone.” 

“He’s ours, and he’s coming with us,” the Lieutenant added, his arms crossed. 

“Certainly, how many pieces would you like him in?” Donnie changed his bo staff to the weed hacker and charged at Frankenfoot. “Arrivederci, paper punk.” 

“NO!” Mizuki stepped in front of Frankenfoot and pulled out her fans in time. 

A green force field formed around her and Frankenfoot and blocked off Donnie’s attack. 

“Okay, it’s official, Raph and Mizzy had gone cuckoo,” Leo added. 

“Frankenfoot, listen to me, please,” Mizuki spoke to Frankenfoot. “You’re not the monster, I am.” 

“No, Mizzy…” Raph started. 

She held up her hand, signaling him to be quiet, and went on. “I didn’t mean to upset you. Raph and I just wanted to protect you from his brothers because they want to shred you. I know I’ve just met you for a while now, but you’re really a good guy. And seeing you happy and alive, that makes me the same way.” 

“Yeah, and our weeks of sparring and playing capture the bandana have been the best fights of my life,” Raph piped in, beaming at him. “When I fight my brothers, I just think about fighting you and getting rid of them so I can fight you again.” 

Frankenfoot beamed at the two, his eyes brimming with tears. 

“Wha…?” Donnie and Mikey both gasped shocked. 

“You did let Donnie beat you,” Leo said to Raph. 

“We will never know,” Donnie shrugged. 

“Yeah, I did,” Raph admitted. 

“We will never know,” Donnie repeated in an octave higher tone. 

“He’s our new best friend,” the older turtle patted the Foot creature’s head. 

“And if anyone wants to take away our buddy,” he and Mizuki then stepped in front of him and glowered at the Foot Lieutenant and Recruit. “They got to come through us.” 

Frankfoot gasped, choked up, and leaned his face on Mizuki’s head. “Buddies.” 

“Touching. And in case you couldn’t tell, that was sarcasm!” The recruit said. 

“We could never let you keep him,” the Lieutenant added. “Shred him, Recruit.” 

“My extreme pleasure,” she whispered before she charged at them. 

She instantly hit Raph in the chest, sending him skidding across the floor. 

She then threw knives at Frankenfoot and Mizuki. “Kunai!” 

Leo blocked off the knives, defending the two. “Back off. He’s ours. A—apparently.” 

“A new best friend? Don’t need this.” Mikey slid up next to Frankenfoot and wiped off the Foot marking before replacing it with their own mark. “You’re a mad dog now, baby.” 

Frankenfoot giggled. “Buddy.”

Mizuki smiled at him. “You got that right. You’re on our team.”

“But this fight’s not about grabbing our bandanas,” Raph added. “It’s about kicking Foot Faces. Are you with me?” 

Frankenfoot, who grunted in an affirmative tone, was the only one facing the wrong way. Mizuki noticed this and turned him around the right way at the Lieutenant and Recruit before he grunted and prepared himself to fight. 

“Get him!” The Lieutenant ordered and threw numerous origami soldiers at them. 

Leo charged forward first, leading the rest of the teens to fight off the other origami soldiers. 

“So this is exactly why Raph was setting up that bandana stuff earlier?” Donnie asked Mizuki before shredding off an origami man. 

“Yep, that’s the truth,” She replied, kicking another one to pieces. “Where’s Buddy?” 

“Over here!” Raph shouted. 

She saw Frankenfoot and Raph fighting off some origami soldiers on a machine of some sort. 

Donnie saw Leo, who is tangled up in a red fabric, flying towards him and Mikey and shoved her out of the way before the two brothers ended up tangled with him and Raph. 

“Donnie! Guys!” Mizuki cried. 

“Buddies!” Buddy said. 

“Finish them. And shred the traitor,” the Lieutenant ordered the other soldiers. 

The origami men charged at them at high speed. Mizuki gasped in horror at the attacking Foot clan. 

Buddy clenched his fists and groaned angrily. A purple energy bursted from his fist, and his eyes changed to a violet color. 

He punched a charging origami soldier, which dissolved to pieces of paper, before he formed his other cut off hand to a much bigger fist from the cut pieces. 

“They grow up and turn against you so fast,” the Lieutenant remarked fearfully. 

Buddy slammed his handmade fist down on the concrete floor, sending the origami men to bits and the Lieutenant and Recruit soaring across the sky. 

The turtles and Mizuki gasped in awe before she snapped out of her daze and cut them loose. 

“I’m calling it, boys and Mizzy,” Raph declared, and he and Leo raised his arms up in the air. “Our buddy’s the winner.” 

His arms were then torn off from their grips, but they quickly put them back together with tape. 

“Aw, man, Mizzy and I owe you one, guys,” Raph said. 

“And we owe you two one, too, throwing your fights,” Leo replied. 

“That can neither be confirmed or denied,” Donnie added. 

“So, what do you say, buddy?” Mizuki asked the Foot man. “First one to grab the red bandana wins?” 

“Buddy!” Buddy yelled excitedly as Leo and Mizuki smirked at Raph. 

The red-masked turtle shrieked when the teens and Buddy ambushed him all at once. They all laughed as they sat on the floor on top of him.


	38. You Got Served

Mizuki stepped through the doorway of the Run of the Mill pizzeria and found Señor Hueso and Yami speaking to one another. A few of the restaurant guests had already left, leaving the place deserted. 

“Let me guess, you called me here for a favor?” The blue-haired girl asked them. 

"Señorita Mizuki, thank heavens you’re here,” Hueso quickly took her by the arm and led her and Yami to the kitchen. “But where are your two turtle friends?” 

“Should be here any moment now,” she replied. 

“Right. Yami, take her to get her uniform ready,” Hueso then turned to Yami. 

“On it, Bone-Man,” the lizard yokai nodded before taking Mizuki to the other room. 

“What’s gotten into Hueso today? He’s never been like this before, apart from being on the most wanted list days ago,” Mizuki asked her yokai friend as she was handed a waitress suit. 

“The Makers of Brutality and the Masters of Barbarianism meetings are on the same night. Tonight!” Yami explained while waiting outside the dressing room. “But I was the only one to stay behind, and Hueso told me I couldn’t handle these guys on my own.” 

“So you called me, Leo and Mikey here to help out?” Mizuki asked again. 

“That’s the plan,” Yami answered. “Those guys are mortal enemies, and they won’t regret bashing each other and destroy the whole place. Hueso really loves this restaurant.” 

Mizuki stepped out of the dressing room now clad in her waitress outfit. “And I’m assuming the rest of the staff just ditched you guys.” 

“They were too scared to serve those people,” Yami went on. “So, Hueso’s appointing you, Leo and Mikey to be temps for the night. The only rules he’s laid out are no mystic weapons, keep the Makers and Masters separated, always eating, never let them fight each other, and definitely no trouble.” 

Mizuki nodded understanding and set her two fans on the table beside her. “Alright. Let’s make this night the best we can do.” 

As soon as they stepped out of the kitchen, they spotted the Makers of Brutality and Masters of Barbarianism on two separate tables, a paper wall standing between. Leo and Mikey are already dressed in waiter outfits and about to be trapped in competition with one another. 

“To be honest, if I were on one of their sides, I wouldn’t want to compete against you,” Mizuki whispered to the lizard yokai. 

“True,” Yami agreed. “Mind if I take the Makers?” 

“It’s all yours,” Mizuki beamed at her. 

The blue-haired girl, now walking alongside Mikey, approached the Masters of Barbarianism. Their leader, a red dragon yokai with an eyepatch, is dressed in a red suit with a black coat and has a sword underneath his arm. Two reptile yokai are dressed in white suits, with one of them wearing glasses. 

“Hello, sirs,” Mizuki greeted him and bowed respectfully, long with Mikey. “Welcome to the Run of the Mill pizzeria. Are we ready to be seated now?” 

The two reptile yokai hissed at the two teens in reply. 

“We’ll take that as a yes,” Mikey acknowledged. “This way.” 

He and Mizuki led the Masters to their table. 

“Would you like for me to hold your coat and sword, sir?” Mizuki asked the Master. 

The leader grunted in response and handed her his coat and sword. 

Leo gaped at them wide-mouth and wide-eyed before growling. 

“Thank you all for coming here tonight,” Mikey said to the Masters as he poured them their drinks. “We’re Michael and Mizuki, the number one waiters here—“

“Ah!” He yelled when somebody pulled him down and dropped the bottle. 

Mizuki gasped as Leo popped up beside her. 

“We’ll be serving you serpent dudes, as my brother serves some other guys who I’m sure you’ve never met,” he finished. 

Mizuki cursed at him under her mouth in Japanese. 

Mikey pulled down the red-eared slider turtle’s pants, and the latter yelped and tried to pull them back up. He accidentally stumbled against the paper wall, which fell and uncovered the Makers’ table. 

“Huh? Ah...” Leo stammered nervously. 

“Oh, no,” Mikey said. 

The Makers and Masters snarled at one another, about to brawl against one another. 

“Come to think of it, maybe we shouldn’t have sat you right next to each other,” Leo remarked.

The enemies hissed at each other, close to their faces. 

“Would the guests like to see their menus?” Mizuki quickly grabbed two separate menus and handed them to the Makers and Masters. 

They both growled at each other before reading off the menus. 

“Phew, nice work, Miz,” Yami exhaled relieved. “Wouldn’t want to damage the fine eating establishment. Plus, not a good idea for them to eat on an empty stomach.” 

She gave Mizuki, who beamed proudly, a high-five. 

“Who needs menus?” Mikey took Boss Beverly’s menu off her hands. “I see you in a thin crust swimming in sheep cheese and succulent swamp meats.” 

“Oh,” Boss Beverly and her girls gasped in awe. 

“Wow,” Mizuki wrinkled her nose. 

“Well, good luck working with Leo,” Yami told her. “I’m gonna try and not compete with you.” 

“Thanks,” Mizuki acknowledged. 

“What about us, Blue and Blueberry?” The leader of the Masters asked them. 

Leo chuckled nervously. “Um…”

Hueso stood behind them and gestured them to keep going. 

“Yeah, it’s all good, chief,” Leo nodded. “I have the perfect thing.” 

“Come on, I have an idea,” Mizuki grabbed him by the arm and ran to the kitchen. 

Moments later, the Masters marveled at the sandwiches that were laid before them. Mizuki and Leo beamed proudly while internally, they are cheering for the satisfied reactions. 

“That is impressive,” the leader said to her and reached into his coat pocket. “Here, a little something for the hard work.” 

He placed something into her hands and she opened them up to find three little unicorns. 

“Mmm,” Mizuki tried to hold back her cry of adorableness as she bowed to the leader respectfully. “Thank you, sir.” 

Meanwhile, Mikey and Leo left somewhere, leaving Yami to deal with the Makers. She asked them to excuse her for one moment and pulled the younger girl to the side. 

“Whatcha got there?” Yami asked. 

Mizuki held up the little unicorns for her to see while she squealed quietly with delight. 

“They’re so adorable,” she said. 

“Oh, my gosh, they are cute,” Yami gushed for a moment before shaking off her awed expression. “Wait, what are we doing here again?” 

The two girls turned around and noticed the Makers and Masters getting close face-to-face. They gasped and quickly stepped in front of them with Hueso joining them. 

Hueso laughed nervously while the girls smiled at them. “One million apologies. Is there—?” 

“We want Orange and Blueberry to wait on us,” one of the serpent yokai demanded. 

“Yes!” Mikey jumped out from underneath a table and stepped next to the Masters. “Ha-cha! More unicorns for Mikey! And how may the all-time champ of today be of service to you?” 

“Hey, they’re my mobsters!” Leo leaped in the air and tackled Mikey onto a table with two baskets of bread. 

The blue-masked turtle grabbed the baskets of bread safely and smugly laughed and set them on the Masters’ table. They applauded impressed. 

The leader chuckled and handed Leo some unicorns. “Here you go, kid. Five unicorns. That’s one more than four.” 

“Oh,” Leo gasped in adoration. 

“Shocking,” Hueso commented. “As waiters, they do not totally stink.”

“Hey, that’s my bread!” Mikey popped up agitated. “Those are supposed to be my unicorns!” 

“What’s that, Second Place? No, no, last place,” Leo smirked smugly. 

“Oh, it is on,” Mikey growled. “Whoever gets the most unicorns is the all-time champ of forever, baby.” 

“Bring it, baby,” Leo snarled. 

They both groaned in anger before they bolted for the kitchen. 

“We are not going to like this, are we?” Yami asked. 

“Nope,” Mizuki shook her head. 

Leo and Mikey then began to fight for more unicorns by creating various dishes, while the two girls and Hueso stood to the side and watched them. With each performance the turtles made, they got more unicorns and added them to their tables. It was at that point they gained many more that they had to lock them in to prevent them from spilling out. 

Leo and Mikey soon turned to their mystic weapons and started going crazy with their competition. 

Yami, Mizuki, and Hueso became extremely worried when the turtles eventually ended up serving the Masters and Makers different with discard items on them. 

The enemies gasped and groaned at one another angrily. 

“No, no, no, no, no, no!” Hueso quickly said. “My grandmother has a saying. Do not get mad, eat cake.” 

The Makers and Masters hummed in agreement. 

“Yami, the cake!” Hueso called to the kitchen. 

“I got it right here!” Yami came out of the kitchen with a cake in her hands. “We have the best cake above or below the city.” 

Leo and Mikey, meanwhile, are counting their unicorns and not paying attention to what is happening. Mizuki rolled her eyes at their competitive natures. 

Yami didn’t pay attention to where she was going, for she accidentally slipped on a banana peel and dropped the cake, which splattered on the ground. 

The Makers and Masters gasped again before they glared at Hueso, who sweated greatly. 

“One day, we will all laugh at this,” he remarked. 

One of Boss Beverly’s bouncers grabbed him in her fist. 

“Apparently, today is not that day.” 

He screamed as he now held upside down by the bouncer. 

“Five unicorns to whichever waiter shatters Bonesy into a hundred pieces,” Boss Beverly smirked darkly. 

Yami and Mizuki gasped in horror. “Oh, no!” 

Leo and Mikey popped out from underneath the unicorns and became shocked at the outcome. 

“Huh?” 

“No way. There’s not enough unicorns in the world,” Leo folded his arms, while Mikey nodded in agreement. 

“One hundred unicorns!” Dragon Boss added. 

“Deal!” Leo and Mikey both said. 

“Guys!” Mizuki and Yami both shouted at them agitated. 

“I mean, no. I mean, deal,” Leo stuttered. “Oh, I’m so conflicted.” 

“Please, take the deal,” Hueso pleaded with them. “Broken bones are nothing compared to my broken heart if my restaurant, she was destroyed.”

“For the love of brutality, I’ll do it then,” Boss Beverly took him and threw him towards a chandelier. 

Hueso screamed as he soared across the atmosphere. “Not my chandelier!” 

Mikey threw his kusari-fundo and caught it in time before bringing him back down. 

“Sorry, chicos, you can’t put a price on friendship,” Mikey stated and threw him to the side. “We got so carried away with our competition, we forgot what really matters.”

He and Leo shredded their waiter clothes. “Punching and kicking bad guys!” 

“Yeah!” 

“As well as not damaging one square inch of my restaurant,” Hueso piped in. 

“Somebody teach these circus clowns a lesson,” Dragon Boss growled as he, his men and the Makers surrounded them. 

“You’re gonna need these?” Yami handed Mizuki her fans. 

The younger girl smirked and unfurled them. 

One of the serpent yokai sprinted towards Leo, but he dodged him and kicked him away. Mikey moved a tray holder away just as the serpent yokai hit the ground and set it back down. 

Mizuki and Yami fought off Dragon Boss’s and Boss Beverly’s bouncers by kicking them under their chins and legs and sending them flying back towards their leaders. 

“Hah! Serves you right!” Mizuki folded her arms, a victorious smirk on her face. 

Dragon Boss snapped his fingers, and Boss Beverly whistled, signaling their men to swarm up behind them. 

“The mobs are teaming up. We’re outnumbered,” Leo said. 

“No problem. Ooh-ah!” Mikey busted the doors holding the unicorns back open. “Attack!” 

The unicorns swarmed out through the doors like a flood and sent the Makers and Masters out through the gateway. 

“And thank you for joining us at the Run of the Mill pizzeria!” Yami saluted and high-fived Mizuki. 

“…George, George, George, George, George,” Mikey laid down on the floor with sparkling eyes. 

“Alright, we get it!” Leo, Mizuki, and Yami both said annoyed. 

“Amazing,” Hueso remarked. “You dispatched the street thugs and there is no damage at all.” 

“Sorry we got caught up in the competition, Bone Man,” Leo apologized. 

“It was not your fault. It was mine, for calling you,” Hueso insisted. “But you were true friends and did what I asked. You brought no harm to my beautiful…” 

“Uh…” Yami interjected and turned his head around. 

The unicorns that were released were now munching on the seats and walking around the restaurant. 

“Race you back home,” Mikey said and raced off. “Winner is all-time champ of tomorrow, baby.” 

“What? Oh, come on!” Leo groaned and chased after him. 

“You’re not going with them?” Yami gestured to the two. 

“Nah, I’m staying behind to help clean up,” Mizuki shrugged and beamed. “Besides, helping people is what I like to do, right?” 

“Uh, I must lose their phone numbers,” Hueso slapped himself in the face. 

One of the unicorns popped up through his hat and munched on it. 

“Oy vey.” 

Yami and Mizuki both giggled.


	39. How to Make Enemies and Bend People to Your Will

“Smell it, smell it, smell it, smell it, smell it,” the three turtles chanted while Raph stood in front of a flower from which stinks fumes were evaporating from. 

Mizuki stood beside Donnie, who had given her a gas mask before wearing his own, with an uncertain look in her eyes. 

Earlier, the brothers had invited her to watch them ‘search’ the Botanical Gardens for any signs of intruders. And by that, they meant messing around by smelling the stinkiest flower in the world. 

“What do you say, Raph?” Donnie told the oldest turtle. “Do you have the guts to sniff the stinkiest plant on Earth, the corpse flower?” 

“Some say it smells like a mummy wrapped in a zombie dipped in long-forgotten milk,” Leo added. 

“Um, I don’t know about this…” Mizuki started. 

“I’m gonna sniff it,” Raph decided. “Like a boss!” 

He grabbed the corpse flower and sniffed it heartily. He suddenly whimpered and gasped, his face and eyes purple, before he vomited on the dirt. 

Leo, Donnie, and Mizuki cringed in disgust. 

“All right, he worfed!” Mikey slid up to the corpse flower. “Me next, me next, me next!” 

He went to sniff the plant, but Mizuki grabbed him at the last second by his shell and pulled him away. At that moment, the Foot Recruit jumped out of the bushes and charged at them. 

“Vermin, prepare to taste my wrath!” She shouted. 

Mizuki was glad she was able to pull Mikey away in time, for the Recruit slashed at the corpse flower, which splattered open and sprayed the insides all over her. 

The violet-eyed girl gasped as the Recruit coughed and gasped from the fumes.

“This was a trap,” she hacked. 

Leo chuckled, his arms folded. “No, that was all you.” 

“Wow, she went all in on the stink,” Mikey remarked. “Nice work, frenemy.” 

The Recruit shot back up and yelled angrily before she started chasing Raph around the flower area. Mikey, Leo, and Mizuki stayed on the sides to avoid being attacked, while Donnie typed on his phone. 

“Why in the world is she even here anyway?” Mizuki wondered aloud. 

The fire alarm suddenly went off, catching her attention. 

“And why is there is an alarm in a botanical garden?!” She yelled. 

“I will grind you into fertilizer!” The Recruit shouted while chasing Raph. 

Mizuki, after making sure she still had her gas mask on, charged at the Recruit, her fans ready, and tackled her to the earth before they began to fight. 

“You will never stop us from collecting the Dark Armor!” The Recruit growled at her while trying to hit her. 

“Whoa, hold on, Stinky Feet. That’s what you’re doing here?” Leo asked. 

A Foot soldier crashed through the glass and collided with the Recruit. The teens looked up and saw various botanical garden men fighting off the other soldiers. 

“Uh, yeah, guys, I think that’s the fight we should be focused on,” Raph gestured to the battle outside. 

“Sounds about right,” Mizuki nodded. 

The teens then sped towards the outside gardens, with the Recruit behind them. 

They shouted their battle cries and began fighting off the Foot soldiers, their weapons ready. 

“Tonfa Power Jitsu!” Raph shouted and knocked off the men with his Tonga powers. 

“Archimedes!” Donnie soared across the sky on his bo staff and grabbed Leo, who fell through a portal in the sky. 

The blue-masked turtle flipped in the air and tackled the Foot Brute. “Odachi bomb!” 

“I know you get nervous when I rush you, but we’ve gotta hurry!” The Brute told his partner.

The Lieutenant scanned one of the statues with his device until it beeped and revealed a mystic metal. “Got it. It’s in this one.” 

Mikey threw his kusari-fundo and grabbed the Lieutenant by the wrist before he started hitting him on the ground on both sides. 

Mikey leaped off the dirt and slammed her fans on two Foot soldiers that were about to attack two of the botanical garden officers. 

“You’re welcome,” she said to the shocked botanical officers. 

She grabbed one of their pitchforks and picked another Foot soldier with it before sending him flying to the side. 

A loud mixture of a roar and scream prompted everyone in the garden to stop fighting and turn around. A large plant mutant roared as it stared down at them. 

“Ah!” “Uh-oh!” 

“Jumping juniper!” The plant mutant examined himself. “I’m in full bloom!” 

He thrust his hands towards the teens and everyone else, and numerous vines charged at them. 

The turtles and Mizuki bounded out of the vines’ way while trying to find a way to take him down. 

“Smelly plant? Cool. Smelly plant with legs? Not as cool,” Mikey stated.   
“Now we’re even,” Mizuki remarked. 

“Get off the geraniums! Let my people grow!” The plant mutant shouted. 

He shot green gunk at Mikey and Mizuki, but the younger turtle spun around his kusrai-fundo and deflected the gunk. Unfortunately, they were now being splattered everywhere, and the others tried to avoid getting hit. 

Raph stomped on a small flame. “Michael, what did we say about mystic flaming highly vegetated areas?” 

“Oh, right,” Mikey nodded and stopped spinning his weapon. 

“Mikey!” Mizuki grabbed him by the shell and pulled him away in time before the gunk could even hit them. 

The others, however, aren’t lucky, since they are now hit with the gunk. Mizuki used her fans, which formed up a shield around her and Mikey, to protect themselves.

“This Stinkbomb guy is my favorite and least favorite mutant all at once,” Mikey groaned. 

“Maybe that’s what we should call him now, since he’s a mutant,” Mizuki stated. 

The plant mutant instantly shot out smelly gunk at the Foot soldiers and botanical garden officers, who all gagged and fell unconscious from the smell, apart from Mizuki and Mikey, who were protected from the gunk by the forcefield. 

Mizuki saw Draxum and the Recruit moving towards the statue with the mystic metal on his vines, and her heart dropped. “Oh, no…” 

“Kali ma!” The Recruit yelled and sliced the mystic metal from the statue’s chest. 

Mizuki growled and charged at them. Draxum, however, saw her oncoming attack and thrust his hand at her. 

A sharp vine shot up from the ground and came at her fast. She dodged it in time, but it hit her in the back and sent her flying. She screamed and hit the dirt, rolling a few times before coming to a stop. 

“Mizuki!” Donnie cried. 

He ran for her from behind a grass-cutter vehicle and skidded to a halt on his knees. The blood from a large cut coated her armor, which was barely sliced in half, and clothes with red colors and seeped into the grass when he had tenderly turned her over. 

“Mizzy…” he whispered. 

Mizuki pushed herself up with her elbows, with Donnie supporting her, and saw Draxum and the Foot Recruit staring the two down with hatred. 

The blue-haired teen felt every bit of her energy leaving her and struggled to stay awake as long as possible. 

Draxum chuckled darkly and turned towards the Foot clan. “Meet us back at the headquarters tonight. There will be excellent news waiting.” 

Mizuki stared at them devastated, even after they had disappeared in a flash. She then groaned and fell back to the dirt. 

“Mizzy? Hey, hey, baby. Stay with me…” Donnie demanded while trying not to panic. 

She attempted to push herself back up, only to rest against the grass. 

“Guys! Mizzy’s wounded…!” His voice seemed to be fading away, even when he was kneeling next to her. 

Her eyes were the last thing to give up on her as the darkness overwhelmed her vision. 

*****

A thumb belonging to a three-fingered hand stroked her bangs. 

Her eyes gradually opened to find the worried, soon replaced by relief, face of her boyfriend. 

“…Donnie?” Mizuki asked, her voice raspy. 

“Hey, babe. You almost gave me a heart attack,” he softly told her. 

With him tenderly holding her arm, she set herself up on her apartment bed. 

Her apartment. She’s back at her hideout…

Raph, Leo, and Mikey stood by the bedroom door with comforted grins, already cleaned up and free from the smelly gunk of the plant mutant. 

“You feeling okay, Miz?” Leo implied to her. 

“Ugh,” she groaned in light agony. “What happened?” 

“Long story short, Draxum and that Foot gal got the armor piece,” Raph explained while rubbing the back of his neck. 

That’s when Mizuki remembered. 

The armor piece, the one that was in one of the botanical garden statues. Draxum and the Foot Clan really got it?

“No. They can’t be…” she shook her head in denial. 

“Yeah, they did,” Donnie admitted defeatedly. 

He hated to see her like this, especially when telling her the bad news about a Dark Armor piece. 

“Ugh! This is a disaster!” Mizuki slammed her fists on the bed and laid her head down on her knees. 

The brothers stared at her with sympathy and regret. They felt really bad about having to bring her along with them rather than trying to pay better attention. 

“Okay, well, it’s our fault, I get it,” Leo raised his hands. “We should have known Draxum had set us all up to get another mystic metal…” 

“The Dark Armor is close to being completed and we’re not a step closer to defeat them,” Mizuki said, her head still on her knees. 

“But on the bright side, at least you saved me from getting covered in smelly gunk from that Stinkybomb,” Mikey piped in. 

“And we appreciate that, Mizzy,” Raph added. 

She still didn’t say anything or face them. Her body shook as she silently sobbed, her arms now wrapped around her legs. 

Donnie felt stares coming from his brothers and found them encouraging him to comfort her. 

He glanced back at Mizuki and sighed and sat down next to her on her bed. 

She flinched at his touch when he rested his hand on her shoulder, but eased when he wrapped his arms around her. She glanced up from her knees and saw Donnie, who placed his chin on top of her head, with his arms embracing her completely. 

“You need to blame anyone, blame us,” he sighed heavily. “We didn’t pay better attention when Draxum set us up back there. So we’re gonna try and keep attempting to prevent him and the Foot clan from completing the Dark Armor.”

She thought about what he had told her before she gently gripped his arm. Soon, the rest of the turtles are embracing Mizuki and Donnie, as the blue-haired girl has finally stopped sobbing, yet some tears are still streaming down her cheeks. 

She beamed up at them gratefully and earned soft grins from them. 

This is what they’re going to do. They’re going to try everything in their power to stop the Foot Clan and Draxum from completing the armor. 

And they won’t rest until New York City is safe.


	40. Happy New Years!

Me: I've got to admit, I'm really gonna miss the 2010s. They were good times here and sad times there, but at least I've come this far, as well as the rest of you guys!

So, without further ado, Happy New Year!

Turtles, Splinter, and Girls: Happy New Year!

All: (Cheering and screaming 'Happy New Year')

*****  
Time for a new adventure...


	41. Mystic Library

“I was trying to give Mayhem a bath, but he poofed away, and somehow, he got stuck in the mirror!” April gestured to Mayhem, who was wagging his tail while being stuck behind the mirror literally. 

Raph, Leo, Mikey, and Mizuki stood in the bathroom while examining the dog-like creature behind the mirror. 

“Aww, poor little fella,” Mikey whined. 

“You guys can get him out, right?” April asked the others. 

“Of course!” Leo replied. “We’re experts on minthtic stuff.” 

“You mean mystic stuff?” Mizuki raised an unamused eyebrow at him and pulled out her phone. “I’m going to call Donnie.” 

“No, no, no, no,” Raph interjected. “I got just the plan to get him out.” 

Moments later, April stared at her damaged bathroom in complete shock, while Donnie and Mizuki shook their heads disappointed at the other turtles, who scattered across the destroyed area. 

“My bathroom!” April shouted. 

“So you thought smashing everything but the mirror would get him out of the mirror?” Donnie asked unimpressed. 

Raph gasped when he had an idea. “I could smash the mirror!” 

“You can’t smash the mirror with him in it!” Leo held his hand that held the tonfa. “He might get trapped in the netherworld!” 

“Oh, my gosh! He’s fading!” Mikey exclaimed. 

Sure enough, Mayhem’s tail disappeared, and he whined. 

“We got to do something!” Mikey jumped on Donnie and started pulled things out of his robe shell. “Donnie, whip one of your magic science potions and get him out!” 

Donnie pushed the younger brother away with his robe arm. “Okay, magic science, not a thing, but, segue, whenever I get stuck with a tough problem, I look for answers at my local library.” 

The three turtles stared at him perplexed. 

“It’s a big place full of books. History, science, art, fiction, anything you can think of,” Mizuki added. 

The three turtles still gawked at them dumbfounded. 

“They are like comics, but thicker?!” Donnie said annoyed. 

“Okay, like comics,” Leo nodded, while Mikey hummed now understanding the subject. 

Donnie groaned agitated, and the teens, leaving April in the bathroom, headed to the public library. 

*****

At the public library, after checking that no one else is here, the turtles and Mizuki scanned the shelves for anything that can save Mayhem. 

Donnie rolled up on a rolling shelf and sniffed the pages of a book with content. “Oh, these walls contain the sum knowledge of entire civilizations!” 

“Whoa! Jupiter Jim Saves A Cat!” Mikey picked up a comic book with excitement. 

“Yes, right,” Donnie slumped. 

“So, where do we find something that would free Mayhem?” Mizuki asked. 

“I mean, there’s, like, a million books here,” Raph added. 

“But Raphael, a library is a treasure hunt,” Donnie scanned the shelves and placed a book back in its rightful position. “You may never know what gems you may find along the way.” 

“Ah, like a book on how to catch? Heads up!” Leo threw a book at his head, prompting him to cry out in pain and fall to the floor. 

“Or, like a book on how to always stand up for your boyfriend when he needs you?” Mizuki kicked Leo from underneath his legs and punched him with her foot on his chest. 

The impact sent him flying and hitting the shelves, causing a few books to hit him on the head. 

“That’s my girl,” Donnie smirked and pulled down his goggles. 

He scanned through every shelf before he found something. “A-ha, there’s something interesting in the section of rocks.”

“Said nobody ever,” Mikey stated. 

“Ah, you’re right. Geology stinks,” Donnie chuckled and picked up the book he saw. 

The book hovered on its own and opened up to reveal a set of jaws. 

“Whoa.” 

“That’s awesome!” 

“Libraries rock,” Leo remarked. 

The book suddenly closed its jaws on the teens and sent them through the pages before they landed on the ground. 

Donnie gasped upon seeing the interior of the place. “Holy Gutenberg, it’s magnificent!” 

Mizuki gasped in awe at the larger library. The library was more amazing than she had imagined. 

A bat mutant with black hair and glasses on her snout studied the books that were on the desk. 

“Watch and learn, lady and gentle-turtles,” Donnie said and made his way to the front desk. 

Mizuki took the time to examine the library with wonder and astonishment and turned off the sound of her phone. The guys, concurrently, messed around while Donnie conversed with the librarian about their mission. 

“This is definitely something,” she mumbled. 

“Fine,” the librarian sighed in defeat and told the teens. “You can go to the main library, so long as you—”

“Shh!” She hit their heads with her finger as she shushed. 

“If my Hush Bats hear anything louder than a whisper,” she gestured up to the bats hanging from the ceiling railings. “They’ll lock you up in the kiddie room.” 

Raph gulped and gave a thumbs up. “Got it.” 

He then wrapped his arms around the other turtles and Mizuki. “If we get locked up in that kiddie room, we’ll never find what we need to help Mayhem. So be very quiet.” 

“It’s just only a room full of kids. What’s so bad about it?” Mizuki shrugged. 

“Wait, where’s Mikey?” Raph searched for the youngest turtle. 

They noticed him standing a few inches from them with a goofy smile. He inhaled greatly, ready to release a scream. 

Mizuki quickly and quietly rushed over to him and clasped her hand over his mouth. Mikey looked at her while still holding his breath. 

“Don’t even think about it, mister,” she warned him silently. 

He thought about it before he nodded, seemingly getting the idea. As soon as she removed her hand from his face, however...

“Echo!” Mikey shouted. 

The yell resonated across the library, and he turned around to face his brothers and Mizuki with a wide grin. 

She slapped herself in the forehead exasperated. 

Three of the Hush Bats swooped in and grabbed Mikey before flying off with him. 

“I regret nothing!” He yelled as he was carried off. 

“Is he gonna be okay?” Leo asked worriedly. 

“In the kiddie room?” Raph chuckled. “He’ll be fine.” 

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out before gasping. Mizuki looked over his arm and saw a photo of Mayhem with his legs now gone and a message from April: “Guys hurry!” 

“Guy, Mayhem’s fading fast,” Raph whispered. “How do we find a book that’ll help us save him?” 

“Very simple,” Donnie quietly answered and picked up an orb from a pedestal. “Every library has a catalog. I’m sure in a mystic library, you merely summon it.” 

He shook the orb a few times and beamed proudly when he saw a book appear faintly. 

“Here we go. ‘Complete Comendium of Escape Rituals’. It’s in Loom 16. Corridor B. Moving stairs, left at the Ibis tapestry.” 

“I’ll write it down so we can remember it,” Mizuki pulled out her phone and started to write it down. 

“The brain is nature’s notepad, Mizuki, my love,” Donnie told her. “I have already memorized the directions in song form.” 

He threw the orb over his shoulder. Mizuki winced when she heard someone scream from behind her when they got hit by the orb before they got carried off by a Hush Bat.

“We better move fast. Mayhem doesn’t have much time,” Raph said. 

As the four teens headed off to find the book they need, they didn’t notice two enemies glaring at them from another place. 

“Loom 16, take Corridor B,” Donnie quietly sang while he and the others walked around the library. “Down the stairs by the Ibis tapestry. Sliding bookcase after bookcase shows the way to the hall, up the pole. Through a hole to the waterfall.” 

Leo beatboxed as he, Raph and Mizuki followed behind him. 

“Keep it down, Donnie!” Mizuki cautioned him. 

“Donatello, with the book in his hand. Saves the day and proves to everyone that he’s the man!” Donnie loudly rapped. 

Mizuki gasped terrified when the Hush Bats came in and grabbed before hovering off. 

“Po-po comes in and takes him away. But Donnie D will live to fight another day!” The soft-shell turtle said in rap form until he was unwillingly gone. 

Raph’s phone vibrated and he pulled it out to find a new message from April. 

“Where are you guys?!” It read, a picture of Mayhem’s head now only visible in the mirror. 

“We’ll be back soon!!!” Raph typed back. 

He sighed in exasperation. “Write it down, I said, but no. ‘The brain is nature’s notepad.’.”

“Raph, relax,” Leo silently told him. “I know Donnie has once again messed up our mission, as he does on virtually every mission.” 

“Are you trying to get Donnie fired?” Raph glared at him. 

“Guys,” Mizuki stepped in between the two. “Knock it off. The last thing we need is those Hush Bats carrying us off to the Kiddie Room, and we can’t let that happen. We’ll worry about Donnie later.” 

“If we’re to save Mayhem, we need to remember the song,” she said as they walked to where the book they need could be.

“Okay, well, how did it go? Something about a Loom,” Leo pondered. 

“Loom 16, that’s what he had told us,” Mizuki reminded him. “And take Corridor B.” 

“Uh, but then what?” Raph asked next. 

He bumped into a familiar form of danger and backed away with a look of shock. 

“Then you run into us,” the Foot Brute and Lieutenant smirked. 

“Step aside, chump. We’re on a crucial mission!” Raph quietly demanded. 

“Which is why we’re going to throw a little monkey wrench into your plans,” the Lieutenant smiled darkly. 

“Oh, yeah?” Raph tried to throw a punch at the Brute. 

The latter caught his fist, however, and the five glanced up and saw the Hush Bats waiting to take whoever makes a sound. 

“Raph, Mizzy! We can’t fight these guys!” Leo said. “We have to be quiet, or we’ll never get the book to free Mayhem.” 

“So we fight them as quietly as the quietest lions in the jungle of silence!” Raph mumbled. 

When he turned around, the Brute blew an open book with dust onto his face. Raph nearly sneezed, but Mizuki and Leo plugged up his nose and took a peek back up at the Hush Bats, one of them narrowing their eyes at them. 

Mizuki stomped her heel on the Brute’s foot, prompting him to let out a muffled groan. 

Leo licked his finger and stuck it on the Lieutenant’s ear. The enemy covered his mouth to keep himself from laughing before falling over to the side. He grabbed his partner’s pants by accident, revealing his underwear. 

Raph, Leo, and Mizuki held back their laughter at the sight in front of them. 

The Brute and Lieutenant looked at one another and smirked at an idea. 

While the Brute was wagging his butt at them, the Lieutenant took a book off a shelf and made funny faces each time he pulled it away from his face. 

Leo and Raph held back their laughter again before the blue-masked turtle took another book and placed it in his mouth, making it look like a duckbill. 

Raph made silly faces as well, while Mizuki stood on a handstand and wiggled her butt at them and crossed her eyes at them, sticking out her tongue. 

Leo tripped on a book that was on the floor and fell with a soft thud. 

The Brute laughed loudly before realizing his mistake. “Uh-oh.”

The Hush Bats arrived from above and carried him off to the Kiddie Room. 

“Hey, come on, put me down!” The Brute yelled before he was gone. 

The Lieutenant picked up a book and ripped out a page. He quickly made miniature origami soldiers and blew them straight at Leo and Raph. 

When the miniature soldiers landed on them, they started tickling their sides, causing them to laugh out loud until they stopped and realized something. 

“Oh, boy.” 

“Uh-oh.” 

The Hush Bats took Raph and Leo and flew them off to the other side of the library. 

“Mizzy! Corridor B!” Raph called to her and pointed to where he saw the corridor. 

Mizuki held a thumbs up and turned to the Lieutenant with determined eyes. 

When he sent the miniature soldiers on her, she blew them away from her and instead sent them right to him. 

He laughed loudly like his partner did until he was suddenly picked up by more of the Hush Bats. “No, put me down!” 

“Yes!” Mizuki cheered and jumped up and down. 

She gasped when she instantly understood her mistake. 

The rest of the Hush Bats flew right at her at high speed. 

“Hang on, Mayhem!” She hastily headed towards corridor B. “We’re gonna get you out!” 

She jumped off the level she was on and landed safely on the stairs. She then sped down the stairs and jumped on a rolling bookcase and rode at high speed. Like a surfer, she flew across the shelf, using her foot to knock down books from the shelves and sending them flying on some of the Hush Bats. 

She saw a flag with an Ibis symbol hanging from two poles on each side and gasped. 

“Down the stairs past the Ibis tapestry!” Donnie’s voice said in her head. 

The bookcase tripped over a lone book, and Mizuki leaped from the fallen bookcase. She grabbed the tapestry and flipped up in the air, screaming. 

She suddenly had an idea and used the tapestry to trap the Hush Bats and grabbed the other end that was ripped off of the tapestry. She created a makeshift parachute with the tapestry and Hush Bats, steering them towards dozen of rows of sliding bookcases. 

“Sliding bookcase after bookcase shows the way to the hall.”

“Alright, let’s put my dodging training to good use,” she said to herself

Maneuvering around the bookcases, Mizuki avoided any bookcase that was about to hit her until she reached the other side of the wall. She let go of the tapestry that was holding the Hush Bats and rolled on the ground safely before rushing through the door leading to the place of the book her friends were looking for. 

“Up the pole through a hole to the waterfall!” 

She saw a pole with the waterfall from behind and rushed towards it as fast as her legs can carry her. 

She grabbed the pole and soared upwards, crashing through the ground. 

She gasped when she saw the book they were searching for the whole time. 

“I’m coming, Mayhem!” She exclaimed. 

The Hush Bats flew through the hole she had made. 

“Don’t have time for this right now!” Mizuki growled. 

She quickly ran for the book, electric bolts left on her trail. The speed grew faster by the second, and she yelled, praying to God above that she would make it. 

Everything felt like a blur and in slow motion in one. 

Mizuki crashing through the wall with the Hush Bats behind her, reaching for the book, and soaring over the Bat Librarian, whose eyes went big upon seeing her in the air. 

The younger girl caught the book in time and screamed as she fell towards the ground below her. 

The Hush Bats grabbed her and flew her straight to the Kiddie Room. She laughed wildly when she saw she still had the book safe in her hands. 

“Guys, I got it! I really got it!” She beamed widely. “Let’s go save Mayhem!” 

A loud boom turned her attention, and she found the Bat Librarian groaning and pulling herself off the floor. Various bookshelves had fallen on top of one another, dozens of books scattered all over the place. 

“You!” The Bat Librarian snarled at Mizuki. “I’ll pummel you into papyrus!” 

Mizuki whimpered and backed away while clutching the book close to her. But when she looked behind her, she raised a questioning eyebrow. 

Mikey, who is wearing a native hat and has markings on him, sat on a makeshift chair, with Raph standing beside him and Leo and Donnie fanning him with leaves. The Foot Brute and Lieutenant hung upside tied up. The mutant kids in the Kiddie Room banged on drum sets dramatically. 

“New toy!” Mikey pointed to the Bat Librarian. 

The mutant kids surrounded the Bat Librarian, while the turtles and Mizuki quickly made their escape. 

“What in the world just happened in there?!” Mizuki asked. 

“Long story,” Donnie replied. 

*****

Back in April’s apartment, the turtles and Mizuki performed the ritual needed to free Mayhem. 

“Now, the final step,” Raph beamed and placed his hand on the center of the mirror. “Boom!” 

The symbols of the ritual lit up, and Mayhem instantly jumped out through the mirror and towards Raph. 

“Goochie-goochie-goo!” Raph cooed, his eyes brimming with happy tears. 

Mayhem instead shredded up his mask and face and landed in Mizuki’s arms. 

“Guys, you did it! Thank you!” April hugged both her and Mayhem. 

The blue-haired girl sniffed and wrinkled her nose before trapping the dog-like creature in an orb. He tried to teleport away, but he still ended up in the orb. 

“Sorry, Mayhem, it’s for your own good,” she said to him. “Ready, April?” 

“Yep,” April held a shower rod and sponge and smirked.

Mayhem glowered at them unimpressed.


	42. The Purple Game

She was really getting worried for Donnie more than the others are. He had spent all night in the arcade, playing some new game and not even moving from his current position. 

Right now, she and the other turtles are watching him playing his new game while they were all dressed in their Jupiter Jim-themed costumes. 

“Donnie, have you been playing all night?” Raph asked him. 

“Yes, this is the greatest game of all time. Stop talking to me,” Donnie replied without looking away from the screen. 

“Really? This?” Leo raised an eyebrow. 

On the screen, they can see Donnie’s character jumping on someone else’s character, his rank rising by one point as a result. 

“Oh, yes! Rank is rising. Oh, I got to make it to number one, baby!” Donnie went to jumping on other characters, while his rank went higher. 

“Well, let’s go, get dressed. If we’re late to FanCon, we’ll miss out on the Jupiter Jim swag,” Raph insisted. 

“I’ll meet you there,” Donnie waved him off. “I’m earning Purple Points to unlock sweet upgrades.” 

“Uh, are you okay? Atomic Lass is gonna be there,” Mikey added. 

“Yeah, isn’t she, like, your childhood icon from the extended Jupiter Jim Universe?” Mizuki asked him next. 

“She and JJ haven’t spoken since—“ Raph started. 

“We don’t speak of that,” Mikey interrupted him. 

“Got to make it to number one,” Donnie got up and licked the TV screen wildly. 

“I know I say this a lot about Donnie, but—demon possession!” Leo yelled, pointing at Donnie. 

The purple-loving turtle glared at him. 

“I’m fine,” he quickly said and turned back towards the screen. 

The turtles and Mizuki looked at him with concern before they left the arcade, leaving him alone. 

*****

The four teens returned from the FanCon some time later. The turtles, apart from Mizuki, laughed and chattered about the fun time they had. 

“What a night, baby!” Mikey chuckled, sitting on Raph’s shoulders. 

“Once in a lifetime!” Raph exclaimed ecstatically. 

“We just shared a life-changing experience,” Leo said next. 

“Yeah, well, I just wished Donnie were there with us,” Mizuki shrugged a bit bummed out. 

“Hey, cheer up. At least you got Atomic Lass to sign an autograph for Donnie,” Mikey reassured her. 

Mizuki nodded and smiled a bit. 

“Donnie, you’re never going to believe what just happened,” Leo said, choked up, as they entered the arcade. 

“I know it’ll never make up for it, but we got you a Jupiter Jim figure with real chopping action,” he pulled out a Jupiter Jim figure and pressed a lever, which moved the arm. 

They stopped when they saw Donnie still playing the game. He was now wearing a plaid flannel shirt, pants, and a snow hat. 

“Ten! So close to one!” Donnie said to himself. “Nothing is going to stop BootyShaker9000!” 

Raph and Mizuki looked at one another before they jumped in front of the TV with their arms folded. 

Donnie yelped and hissed like an angry cat. “Move, move, move!” 

“Dude, you okay? You’re dressed up like a lumberjack,” Raph said. 

“It’s a new upgrade I unlocked. Not many have,” Donnie replied, placing his hand underneath his chin, and chuckled. 

“How’d you pay for that gear, Donnie?” Leo asked next, examining the hat and flannel. “How’d you pay for that gear?” 

The soft-shell turtle glanced down at the floor, not replying. 

“Oh, you did not—“ Mikey gasped and raced towards his room, following by his two brothers. 

Mizuki glanced back at her boyfriend and sprinted off after the others. She found Mikey on his knees in front of his broken piggy bank, while Leo held his damaged piggy bank. 

“He destroyed Mrs. Porky Coin!” Mikey wailed. “I will avenge her!” 

“And he doesn’t seem to care he missed a literal once in a lifetime experience,” Leo added devastated. “That lady in a wheelchair walked!”

“What do you do if someone you love is obsessed with something that’s bad for them?” Raph asked. 

Mizuki inhaled deeply before furrowing her eyebrows. “I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to snap him out of his Purple Game fantasy and find out what’s really causing him to be like this! In the meantime, you guys find a way to know what’s wrong with him, and don’t stop until you found a solution!” 

The three brothers watched her as she stomped out of Mikey’s room and to the arcade. 

Mizuki soon saw him sitting in a new chair in front of the TV, with various boxes of size and shape surrounding him in the arcade.

She approached him and couldn’t help but stare at the new chair. 

“Uh, Donnie, where’d you get that chair?” She asked him. 

“I unlocked it, and now, I can explore a whole new world to rule, and—“ 

“Donnie, please, there’s no time for this,” Raph grabbed his chair and made him face him. “It’s hero time. We need you.”

“I’ll be right there. You have my word,” Donnie turned back around and faced the screen. 

*****

Donnie still didn’t move from his new chair, even after he had sent Shelldon to accompany his brothers. The megamech was wrecking the city in the game, which strangely looks familiar to the outside city, where a similar megamech was demolishing. 

Two plush dolls are running around, while a yellow one was on the megamech’s head. 

“Get out of here, you annoying little plush dolls!” Donnie mumbled. “You’re ruining Mr. Number One’s mech!” 

Mizuki stayed outside of the arcade and watched him play the game. 

She thought about what she needed to do before she had an idea. 

“Do not lose hope, Mizuki,” she told herself. “Just do what you must.”

She inhaled deeply and approached him. 

She grabbed the armchairs and spun him around in a flash. He yelped and blushed and nearly slithered down on the chair upon being close to her face. His expressions softened when he saw her eyes about to well up with tears. 

“Donnie, you’ve been doing nothing but stay in here and play that game all day long,” she started, her voice nearly cracking. “Your brothers and I are getting worried about you. They miss you, Donnie. I miss you.” 

Donnie stared at her with a softhearted look. 

“Please…” She glanced back up at him, her eyes now brimming with tears. “Please, come back. I want to see my boyfriend again.” 

Donnie thought about what she had told him and realized what he had done. While he had been playing the game, he had pushed aside his brothers and Mizuki without even knowing it. 

He cupped her face with both his hands, his controller forgotten for a second, and nodded in understanding. “Alright, let me just quit this game for a moment.” 

He turned back around and pressed a few buttons on his controllers. A menu “Leaving Game. Are You Sure You Want To Quit?” appeared on the screen. 

When he pressed on the “Yes” button, it wasn’t doing anything. 

“Uh, I can’t quit out,” Donnie said. “What is happening?” 

A familiar form of a Purple Dragon lit up on the back of the chair. Mizuki noticed this and her eyes grew with terror. 

“Oh, no…” 

Donnie’s hands and legs were instantly trapped by clanks, leaving him vulnerable. 

“This was not covered in the user manual,” Donnie exclaimed and tried to move with no avail. 

“Hold on, Donnie. I’m gonna try and get you out!” Mizuki went to try and free him. 

The screen changed from the game to a smirking Kendra. 

“We meet again, BootyShaker9000. Or should I call you guys, ‘Othello Von Ryan and Mizuki Harrison’? Or should I call you guys Donnie and Mizuki?” she smiled smugly. 

“You!” Mizuki snarled at her. 

“Oh, the Purple Dragons. I should’ve known,” Donnie glowered. “How’s house arrest?” 

“Yes, it is us, the Purple Dragons,” Kendra chuckled darkly. “The greatest teen hacking duo of—“

“Uh, trio,” Jason interrupted. 

“Just shut up, Jase!” Kendra slapped him on the back of the head. “You are on thin ice!” 

“I know I said the plan seemed insane, but it totally worked!” Jason smiled.   
“We wanted our revenge, and you played your part perfectly,” Kendra told Donnie. “You almost left your girlfriend and destroyed your brothers.” 

“Yes, but I didn’t!” Donnie retorted. “Mostly, mostly.” 

“While we would’ve really enjoyed watching you smash your brothers, watching you watch us smash them will be just as nice!” Kendra grinned maniacally. 

The screen changed back to the plush dolls, now shown as the other turtles, running away from the megamech. 

Donnie struggled out of the chair as much as he could, while Mizuki tried everything she can to free him. 

“Make it stop! How are you controlling it?” Donnie glared. 

“The mech is fully self-operational,” Jeremy chuckled darkly. “Its A.I. learned from how you played the game. It’s the—“ 

“Jeremy, wrap it up already!” Kendra demanded. 

The screen changed back to the megamech firing lasers at the three turtles in the streets. 

“Brothers!” Donnie cried. 

“No!” Mizuki shouted. 

Donnie struggled again until he fell over on the side to the floor. 

“You little—!” Mizuki glared madly at Kendra. “When I find you guys, I will make you regret this!” 

“Love to stay and watch you attempt to free your little lover, but duty calls,” Kendra smiled evilly at her before blowing a kiss. “Buh-bye.” 

The screen changed back to the three turtles being chased by the megamech. 

Donnie continued to struggle his way out until he gasped when he had an idea. “Mizuki! Kick me that Jupiter Jim figure!” 

Mizuki saw the Jupiter Jim figure on the floor and kicked it towards him. He caught it with his mouth and used it to type on his arm computer. 

“Donnie, you got to stop this! I love you, and your gaming is hurting me!” Leo called from the screen, him and the others now trapped in the megamech’s grasp. “Like, literally hurting me!” 

Donnie’s spider and rocket shells both appeared and strapped themselves to the chair he is trapped in. 

“C’mon, my fair maiden! We’ve got our friends to save!” 

Mizuki beamed and jumped up on his legs and picked up the controller. They both flew out of the lair and right to where the others are. 

The megamech was about to crush them with its other hand. Donnie handed her the cheat codes quickly, and Mizuki pressed the buttons as fast as she could. 

The megamech’s arm stopped just as it was about to crush the three brothers. They both turned around and saw Donnie and Mizuki in the air, with the blue-haired girl pressing the buttons on the controller. 

“Cheat code, baby! Let’s finish this!” Donnie said determinedly. 

He moved his head to let the goggles fall in his eyes and a blaster automatically appeared from his robo-shell and shot at its head. 

The megamech fell backward and broke apart from the impact. 

Donnie and Mizuki landed near the hand which had held the brothers hostage. She jumped off his laps and checked on them for any injuries. Apart from scratches on them, they didn’t seem to be hurt. 

“Guys, guys?” Donnie tapped their heads with his robo claws. “Are you okay?” 

Mikey shot up and grabbed his shoulders. “You hurt Mrs. Porky Coin. I will have my—“ 

He groaned and slid back down to the concrete. 

Donnie then grabbed Mizuki and his brothers with his robo arms and pulled them in for a hug. “I’m just glad you guys are safe, and you don’t know how sorry I am.” 

“I’m really glad you do, Donnie,” Mizuki sighed and hugged him back. 

“I will never—“ he paused when he saw a billboard saying “The Purple Game 2! Coming Soon!”. 

“Oh, Purple Game 2!” Donnie shoved his brothers and Mizuki aside with his robo arms. “I must have it!” 

Mizuki rolled her eyes and grabbed his face. She kissed him in the mouth, which snapped him out of the trance. He sunk slowly into her kiss and smiled underneath her mouth. 

She pulled away from him and smirked at his goofy smile and flushed cheeks. “Better now?” 

“Oh, yeah. No more gaming like this for me for a while,” he nodded. 

She smiled at him satisfied and comforted, while the others chuckled.


	43. Bonus Chapter (Day and Night Out)

His fingers shook over his phone screen as he tried to remember what he had planned on telling her. Donnie sweated greatly, his eyes darting around the numbers of her phone number.

Would she say yes? Or no? What would she reply?

“You good there, bro?” Leo asked outside the lab.

Raph and Mikey looked at their purple-loving brother sitting at his desk chair with his phone shaking in his palms.

“What am I gonna say? What do I tell her?” Donnie only mumbled in answer. “What is she gonna say? Would this be a bad idea?”

“What’s gotten into him?” Mikey pondered aloud.

“He’s been coming up with different plans to hang out with Mizuki for a full day,” Leo explained. “Poor smooth boy’s already nervous in less than one millisecond.”

“And how long has he been like this?” Raph asked next.

“Probably close to 15 minutes,” the red-eared slider turtle replied.

“Let Dr. Delicate Touch do his job,” Mikey stepped in front of his two brothers.

He stepped next to Donnie with his hands behind his back and a calm smile.

“Snap the heck out of it, boy!” He yelled at the top of his lungs.

Donnie yelped and fell backward on his chair and caught his phone by chance before it could even hit the floor.

He sighed relieved before glaring up at his younger brother. “Come on, Mikey. I’ve been trying to come up with something for...how long ago did you guys found me?”

“Dude, you were sitting there for under 20 minutes,” Leo glanced down at him.

“And did Mizuki text any of you guys?”

“She just texted a few minutes, asking about you,” Raph replied. “She’s on her way here.”

Donnie shot up from the floor in a panicked state. “What?! Oh, crap, she’s gonna be disappointed! This is gonna be our first date together, and I haven’t planned anything yet!”

“Why don’t you guys go outside? Like, literally head out of the lair?” Mikey hinted.

Donnie thought about what Mikey had suggested until he remembered something. Mizuki had mentioned something about a Festival at Bronx Park happening down there, where everyone has dressed up as different animals a few days ago…

That’s when he had an idea.

“That’s it! I know exactly how to plan this date!” Donnie speedily jumped up and rushed off somewhere.

Raph and Leo stared at where he ran off to, while Mikey smirked proudly with his hands on his hips.

*****

Mizuki arrived at the lair some time later, but no one greeted as she expected.

She is wearing a light pink jacket that is covering her no-sleeve top, a mini-skirt, leggings and beige boots. Her long hair, instead of being braided, is put up in a middle-hanging ponytail.

“Hello? Raph? Mikey?” She called through the lair.

No one responded.

Her phone rang in her pocket. When she took it out, her parents’ names are shown to her.

“Hey, Mama, Papa,” she greeted them in Japanese.

“Hey, sweetheart!” Momoka and Garrett both greeted back.

“Did you make it to the boys’ lair?” Momoka asked her.

“I did,” Mizuki replied in the same language. “I’m looking for the others right at this moment.”

Garrett chuckled at his daughter. “Must you always speak in your mother’s language?”

“You learned how to understand it from me,” Momoka remark while nudging her husband.

“Anyway, we just wanted to make sure you’ve made it there safe and well,” Garrett went on. “Call or text us if you need anything, alright, sweetheart?”

“Will do, Papa,” Mizuki smiled gratefully this time in English. “Love you, guys.”

They gave her their farewells in Japanese, to which she rolled her eyes playfully at, before she ended the call.

As she walked closer to Donnie’s lab, she could hear faint voices from there. Turning around the corner, Mizuki noticed the familiar shell of her boyfriend facing her.

A mischievous smirk plastered itself on her face. She quietly snuck up behind him and reached out to tap his shoulder.

A pile of pillows fell backward and onto the floor. She gasped and took a couple of steps back.

“You honestly didn’t think I would fall for that, did you?” Donnie appeared behind her.

She yelped from fright upon hearing him and giggled while lightly punching him in the arm.

“Oh, my God, Donnie,” she chuckled.

“The way you reacted to my jump scares is adorable to me,” Donnie beamed playfully at her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer to him.

“Well, one day, I will get back at you,” she teased him.

He laughed haughtily and shook his head at her. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah, but where are we heading to?”

“Trust me, it’s a special surprise,” he replied as they walked out of the lair.

Raph, Leo, and Mikey popped out from behind the pillows and watched the two walk off.

“Do you think she ever noticed us hiding?” Leo asked.

“Nope,” Raph and Mikey both answered.

*****

“The Festival of New York? Donnie, this is genius!” Mizuki gasped starry-eyed at the sights of the Festival.

“Not only am I able to fit in with the crowd, but we can also enjoy a fun date here,” Donnie beamed proudly.

She giggled and stepped closer to him, her arm around his.

The Festival was more amazing than she had believed, in fact, bigger than she anticipated.

Those who were on rides sounded like they are having the fun of their lives, the challengers playing the arcade and carnival games either seemed like they are winning or losing, but otherwise having a good time. The thick scent of different food filled the air, therefore making the environment more festive and inviting.

Numerous people walked past the long couple, a few kids stopping occasionally to compliment on Donnie’s “costume” and stare at him in awe. Some adults dressed up in animal costume also didn’t hesitate to stare at him with wonder and amazement.

“Wow! Mom, look at that costume! That’s awesome!”

“Nice outfit, man!”

“I love that look, dude!”

“Yeah! You rule!”

Donnie beamed occasionally at the people who had complimented him on his “costume”, as Mizuki giggled at the young ones’ amazement.

“I cannot believe everyone’s thinking I’m in a costume,” Donnie said to her. “Apart from Halloween, this is the best thing to be out in a crowd and be accepted to society.”

“I cannot believe it, either,” Mizuki remarked. “Now we don’t have to worry about anything bad.”

She noticed her boyfriend’s nervous look and became concerned. “Everything alright?”

“What? No, no, everything’s all fine,” he quickly answered her.

For him, he just everything to be fine. He had been waiting for this date for what seemed like forever, and he didn’t want anything to ruin it.

He just wants this to be perfect.

A sudden child’s sobbing caused him to stop in his tracks, as well as Mizuki.

“Donnie?” She asked again.

He glanced around the area for the source of the sobbing, not even bothering to answer her. He pulled down his goggles and scanned the place until he found something and gasped.

A small child with a ponytail was standing in the corner of a carnival tent and holding her stuffed animal close to her.

“Hold on a minute, that little kid looks lost,” he gestured to the female child.

Mizuki saw what he was pointing at, and her heart broke. She knew how it felt to be left alone as a child until years later.

The two teens looked at one another and nodded before they approached the young child.

“Hey,” Donnie spoke up.

The little girl saw Donnie and Mizuki and took a few steps away with fear.

“No, it’s alright,” Mizuki said soothingly and crouched to her level. “We’re here to help. Are you lost?”

The child looked up at the two again and nodded slowly.

“Where’s your mom and dad?” Donnie asked next.

“I—I don’t know,” she answered softly while wiping tears from her cheeks. “I got distracted by those pretty prizes, and I just lost them.”

Donnie and Mizuki glanced at each other and understood what they were thinking.

“Well, why don’t you let us help you find them?” Donnie suggested softly. “Pretty sure they’re looking for you, too.”

The child sniffled, looking up at them with hope. “Really?”

“You have our word, little one,” Mizuki nodded.

The girl giggled with tears leaving her eyes and leaped into Donnie’s arms. He gasped, looking around uncertainly, before he gradually beamed and hugged her back.

Mizuki chuckled softly at her boyfriend.

A few hours and no luck finding the little girl’s parents. But Donnie and Mizuki weren’t going to give up.

With the young child on the soft-shell’s shoulders, the two teens searched everywhere in the Festival for her parents, even when night has fallen.

“Oh, by the way, we never got to know your name,” Donnie asked the child.

“I’m Emily,” she replied.

“Oh, I know someone who had the same name as you,” Mizuki added.

“Really?” Emily gasped amazed.

“A friend of mine from where I work,” the older girl explained.

“Nice cover-up,” Donnie whispered to her, who smiled in response.

Shrill screaming suddenly erupted throughout the Festival, followed by more of people screaming. The two teens spun around and found various people running away from a floating familiar figure.

“The stars will shine brighter with power!” Nova Cosmos laughed evilly.

He sent animals in the forms of stars after the fleeing people. A lion nearly caught a few kids before chasing after its next victims.

“Oh, no! That guy again?” Mizuki groaned annoyed.

“Who is that man?” Emily fearfully asked, hiding behind Donnie’s head.

“Nova Cosmos. He’s flirted with me when April, Mayhem and I came across him,” Mizuki explained before quickly grabbing her boyfriend’s hand and rushed to find somewhere to hide.

“He did what?!” Donnie practically yelled.

Even though he wanted to fight Nova, he couldn’t with a child on his shoulders.

He searched for a place where Emily could hide and found a carnival game with no one around. Donnie set her behind the counter and placed a few stuffed animals over her.

“You’ll be safer here,” he instructed her and booped her nose. “Plus, you’ve got some new furry friends here.”

“Donnie!” Mizuki called.

She was fighting off some of Nova’s starry-shaped creatures while trying her best not to get killed.

Donnie whipped out his bo staff, forming it to a hammer-rocket, and charged at the teen star master.

He slammed the rocket end on one of the creatures and it disappeared to a dozen of stars. Mizuki landed on her feet with ease and threw her fan at the star-lion, which dispersed to some stars.

“Ah, my lovely Star warrior,” Nova sneered down at the two. “How nice to see you again.”

“So you’re the punk that flirted with my girl when she first came across you!” Donnie pointed at him with fury.

Nova scoffed haughtily. “You mean to tell me you went to be with this mutant over me? The greatest Star Master of all of New York?”

“The turtle you’re calling a mutant is more of a gentleman than you ever will be!” Mizuki retorted. “Especially when he’s trying to make a date amazing!”

“Oh, I see. If it’s an amazing date you want, then perhaps I could make it perfect!” Nova shot out his hands, and a horde of star-shaped creatures charged at the two teens.

“Run!” Donnie grabbed his girlfriend’s hand and pulled her along with him.

They stopped when they heard a child’s scream and found Emily cowering behind the carnival game counter and trying to keep the tears of fear from leaving her eyes.

“Emily!” Mizuki shouted and ran for her as fast as she could.

She managed to throw a large basketball from the basketball carnival game at one of the star monsters about to attack Emily, which disappeared to dozens of lights, and quickly scooped up the child.

“Come on, move!” Donnie yelled.

The two girls caught up with him and ran across the paths of the Festival, with Nova and his star monsters following after them.

The two teens and Emily hid behind a row of roses in the Festival Garden as Nova sent his creatures out to look for them.

“I’m really sorry about this, Mizuki,” Donnie apologized to her. “I just wanted to make this date perfect.”

“Are you kidding me? This is what you’ve been worrying about the whole time?” Mizuki raised an amused, soft eyebrow at him as she held a now whimpering Emily. “I don’t care what happens as long as I’m with you. This date isn’t just messy and thrilling all at once, this is amazing!”

“Wait, really?” Donnie looked at her shocked.

A bear in the form of stars leaped out of the bushes behind them and roared.

The teens and Emily screamed and dodged the bear’s attack in time. They rolled up near the front entrance of a maze before they looked at one another and smirked at an idea.

“This way! To the maze!” Donnie yelled excitedly and took Mizuki’s hand.

The three rushed in through the entrance. Nova growled and chased after them with his creature beside him.

Donnie used his goggles to find their way through a maze of mirrors while not daring to let his girlfriend and Emily go.

“Now’s the perfect time to use the holograms I’ve been working on,” he grinned.

He released a miniature device from his robo-shell, and it floated off behind him. The device beeped a few times and formed the familiar figures of Donnie, Mizuki, and Emily.

Nova skidded to a stop alongside his creatures and saw a laughing Mizuki and Emily, who are waving at them from a few meters.

“Hah! I got you now—“ He started towards them.

But he hit a mirror which was showing a different direction of where they are standing. He groaned in pain and soothed his nose.

One of his star creatures spotted Donnie on the opposite side and leaped up at him. It disappeared to a pack of stars the moment it made contact with a mirror.

“What the...?” Nova faltered as he searched the place for Mizuki and Emily.

He heard giggling from behind and saw Donnie and Mizuki pointing at him and laughing from a few inches.

“Alright, you little—“ Nova hit the glass again and found the two no longer there.

He rubbed his nose to ease the pain and tried to find a way out of the mirror maze. When he found none, he just screamed in defeat and hit at the glass in hopes of breaking them.

Donnie, Mizuki, and Emily ran out through the exit and cheered victoriously. The younger child was then lifted up on Donnie’s shoulders again and giggled with triumph.

“It worked! I can’t believe it worked!” Mizuki whooped and jumped up and down.

“And no more star-shaped monsters to torment innocent people for a while,” Donnie remarked and looked up at Emily. “Alright, now to find your parents.”

The teens headed back to the entrance, where Emily’s parents are waiting for them. They instantly rushed up to them just as Donnie set the younger child down safely.

“Emily!” The mother cried.

“Mom! Daddy!” Emily ran up to her parents, who entrapped her in a big hug.

Mizuki sighed in relief and gently clutched her chest.

“We thought we had lost you back there!” Emily’s mom hugged her, choked up.

“Mommy, Daddy, you won’t believe what happened back there!” Emily explained to her parents excitedly. “A man was controlling those star monsters, but that lady and her boyfriend saved me!”

Her parents looked up at Mizuki and Donnie, the latter nervously waving at them.

“Thank you. Thank you so much,” the father beamed at them gratefully. “We don’t know what we would do without her.”

“It’s the least we could do,” Mizuki grinned. “Take care of yourself, Emily.”

Emily ran up to Donnie and Mizuki and hugged them both by the legs. They gasped but recovered themselves and hugged her back.

“Thank you for keeping your promise,” Emily said.

Donnie beamed softly down at her. “No probbles.”

Emily glanced up at them one last time before she ran back to her parents happily. The threesome was soon lost in the crowd as they made their way back home.

Mizuki perked up at Donnie and pulled him down by the arm and kissed him on the cheek. His face flushed red as a rose when she unexpectedly pecked him on the side.

“Wh-what was that for?” He asked her flustered.

“That’s for making the best date ever,” she replied, smiling up at him.

A goofy, yet loving smile plastered itself on his face, his cheeks growing redder.

*****

“Uh, Donnie? Hey, Donatello?” Leo waved his hand over Donnie’s face, the dopey smiled not even leaving his face for one second. “Come on, buddy. Raph’s already found a Jupiter Jim movie for us to watch.”

“He’s been like this since he had that date with Mizzy,” Mike added.

They are standing over Donnie, who was lying down on his bed with the dopey smirk. Raph, meanwhile, had entered the genius tech turtle’s room and found his two other brothers looming over him.

“What’s gotten into him this time?” He asked, his arms crossed.

“Only two days since the date with Mizuki, and Donnie’s already acting like an idiot in love,” Leo explained. “Which, of course, he is right now. And he can’t hear me.”

“Let me try my Dr. Delicate Touch,” Mike added.

He leaned in to yell in Donnie’s ear, but the soft shell terrapin, his love-struck look unfazed, caught him by the face and pushed him back.

“Oh, he got you this time,” Leo chuckled.

“Don’t ruin this moment for him, Mikey,” Raph pulled the youngest turtle and Leo by their shells out of Donnie’s room.


	44. Man vs. Sewer

Down in the sewers, Raph was panicking lightly and walked around while finding service on his phone. 

“All alone. Where are my brothers and Mizzy? They said they’d be here.” 

Leo, Donnie, Mikey, and Mizuki watched him panic unamused as they held their specific tubes. 

“Uh oh, Donnie forgot to text Raph we were running late,” Mikey narrowed his eyes at Donnie. 

The youngest turtle is wearing an orange-and-yellow stripped swimsuit. 

“Oh, sweet, sweet Angelo, how soon you forget that today, I am on vacation,” Donnie chuckled and shook his head. 

“Hence, my board shorts: The international sign for ‘I am not a useful member of society’,” he showed the others and Mizuki his purple board shorts. 

Donnie is dressed in a light purple undershirt, white shirt with purple flowers, the fore-mentioned board shorts, and flip flops. 

“We only left the guy alone for five minutes,” Leo said, turning to Raph. “And we told him we had to find tubes.” 

He is wearing a light blue tank top and blue board shorts like Donnie. 

“Is this the first time he’s been like this?” Mizuki, who is wearing a dark red two-piece swimsuit with a skirt shawl and flip flops, asked her boyfriend. 

She had her unbraided hair up in a middle bun. 

“Well, this is definitely the first time you’ve seen him like this,” Donnie replied to her. “He panics whenever he’s left alone for a certain period.” 

Mikey pushed aside his two brothers and Mizuki. “This looks like a job for Dr. Delicate Touch.” 

He cleared his throat and placed his hands behind his back calmly. 

“Get your mind right, son!” He yelled at the top of his lungs, startling the others. 

Raph yelped when Mikey shouted unexpectedly and let go of the ladder he was climbing up and fell into the sewer waters. 

Mikey jumped in after him in a cannonball motion and popped back up. 

“What took so long?!” Raph threw his phone at the box turtle’s head. “You know Raph gets weird when I’m left alone.” 

“Relax,” Leo reassured him. “Did you get a tube?” 

Raph pulled out a large tire proudly from behind his back and placed it in the water. Apart from Leo and Mikey, who gasped in awe, Donnie and Mizuki stared at him shocked. 

“Where did you get that?” Donnie asked the oldest brother. 

“Uh...” Raph faltered before answering again. “Borrowed it from Splinter?” 

“Splinter, who only owns robes and a shady past, let you—“ Donnie was cut off when Leo trapped him in his tube and threw him in the water. 

He then helped Mizuki in her tube, which is already in the water, before jumping in behind her. 

“Tube time!” Raph laughed. 

Mikey grabbed Donnie and Mizuki by their tubes, and the teens floated down in the sewers. 

“Okay, men and Mizzy, New York’s sewers are a dangerous and complex labyrinth—“ 

“Full of creatures and games and rides?” Mikey interjected, his eyes sparkling with wonder. “This is gonna be amazing!” 

“What? No!” Donnie said. “Where do you think we are? Just take every left turn to stay on the lazy river, capisce?” 

“Whatever, Donnie. Mad Dogs, ahoy!” Raph exclaimed. 

The teens laid down on their tubes, being carried by the calm sewer waters. Donnie and Mizuki held hands as to not let one another go. 

The soft-shell turtle noticed a scar, the one where Draxum had given her back in the Botanical Gardens, on her bare back and his eyes softened. He felt terrible for letting this happen to her…

“Ain’t this the life, guys?” Leo sighed in relaxation. “A day off from Splinter’s training to kick back and bask in the luxury of—“ 

“Dunk-a-roo!” Raph shouted, flipping in the air and flying towards the screaming teens. 

Raph landed in the water, and a large splash enveloped the other turtles and Mizuki. They popped up from the sewer waters and caught their breaths. 

Donnie groaned and glared at Raph. “Can’t you guys just do a sports pass with your smelly ball or something?”

“Who you calling smelly?” Raph pulled out a football with a red bandana. “Lace Face has been part of the family longer than you.” 

“Now, let’s run the Midnight Special, boys!” He threw the football in the air and laughed. 

“Look alive, Leo!” Mikey jumped up and kicked the football to Leo. 

Leo laughed and spun it around with his arms. “And trick passing.” 

He threw it to Donnie, who leaped up from his tube and hit it over his head like a volleyball player. “Sports!” 

“I got it! I got it!” Raph bounded off his tire and caught the football before falling into the water. 

“Whoo! Oh, yeah!” The turtles and Mizuki cheered.

“Yeah!” Raph popped back up from the water and held up the football victoriously. 

However, he was unintentionally floating down the other path of the sewer lines. 

“Uh-oh,” he said, his eyes wide, before he disappeared behind the waterfall. 

“Our football!” Mikey yelled. 

Leo, Donnie, and Mizuki stared at him deadpanned. 

“Oh, and Raph!” 

The four groan in surprise when they back on their tubes and hovered in the water through another path. 

“Wrong way!” They all yelled before they slid down the watery lines. 

Each time they slide upside down on the ceiling, the three brothers raised their arms and cried giddily, apart from Mizuki, who was clinging onto Donnie for dear life. 

“Raph, whee! Raph, whee!” The three turtles, except Mizuki, both exclaimed. 

“Guys! Don’t leave me alone!” Raph cried on the other side of the sewer paths. 

“Hold on, Raph! We’re coming!” Mizuki called to him. 

“We’ll find you, Raph!” Leo yelled. 

The four other teens screamed as they flew off the sewer line leading to a sewer lake below. 

Leo popped up from the water with a horrified expression. “Raph is all alone! Guys, we need to—“ 

“Go down that slide again?” Mikey asked excitedly, interrupting him. 

“Yes, agreed. Raph’ll make it home eventually, I’m sure,” Donnie added. 

“No! We are not leaving without him! He’s your brother, and—“ Mizuki argued. 

“Then why doesn’t he have Splinter’s rugged good looks like we do?” Mikey slid up next to her, wiggling an eyebrow. 

Mizuki scoffed, rolling her eyes, and trapped him in his orange tube. Mikey grunted and fell back into the water upside down. 

“You know how savage Raph gets when he’s alone,” Leo reasoned. “He’ll totally lose it if we don’t find him fast. Clock’s ticking.” 

“Fine,” Donnie finally said. “But just so we’re clear, today’s my day off. Respect the board shorts, bros.” “Okay, cool,” Leo sarcastically replied. “Now, we just need to go back up that tunnel to where we lost him.” 

“You guys got to try this!” Mikey took a deep breath, still in his tube, and flipped upside down in the water again. 

“Not now, Mikey,” Mizuki grabbed him by the tube and pulled him along with her as she followed Leo and Donnie. 

They climbed back up through the tunnel and soon made their way through the tunnel to where they got separated from Raph. They repeatedly called his name in hopes that he would find where they are. 

“Raph?” Mizuki called, her hands cupped around her mouth. “Raph, where are you?” 

Water splashing from a distance prompted the others to stop in their tracks. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You guys hear that?” Leo asked. 

Mizuki saw a wave of water approaching them from behind fast. She screamed, which caught the three turtles’ attention, just before they got enveloped by the water again. 

Donnie held onto Mizuki so he wouldn’t let her go while the four teens hit the wall of the sewer tunnel. 

“Ow, my brain! Ow, my other brain!” 

They soon landed on another area of the New York sewers and groaned upon contact with the hard floor. 

Mizuki grunted and rubbed her sore butt before she was helped up by Donnie tenderly. 

He got a better look at the scar on her back and regret once again filled within him. The images of Mizuki lying on the grass with the bloodied wound replayed all over again in his head. 

“Donnie?” Mizuki’s voice brought him back to reality, and he was face-to-face with the worried look in her face. 

“Everything okay?” She asked him. 

“Uh, yeah, everything’s okay. It’s all good,” he lied to her.   
He didn’t want her to know about the scar on her back. 

Mizuki stared at him with concern before she nodded with understanding. 

Later on, the three turtles and Mizuki walked down the sewer pathways and continued to look for Raph. 

Donnie, now relaxed, yet a bit ashamed, placed a few ice cubes and a straw in a pineapple cup and slurped it with ease. Mizuki was handed a coconut cup with another straw. 

“Uh, where did you guys get that?” Leo asked, a bump on his head. 

“Today’s vibes were supposed to be chill, so I went ahead and filled my Battle Shell with some refreshment,” Donnie answered. 

“Just two, Donald?” Mikey implied agitated. 

“And ice. We’re not animals,” Donnie said. 

“Then give us ice for our horribly mangled bodies,” Leo demanded. 

Mechanical whirring came from the Battle Shell as Donnie glanced around innocently. 

“It melted,” he lied before slurping on his pineapple cup again. “Mmm, perfect.” 

“Guys, I think something horrible happened here!” Mikey gestured to somewhere and fell into the water again. 

The four teens followed to where Mikey had told them and gasped in shock upon the sight. 

Punch marks are left on the wall and pipes, some of them leaking out sewer water. 

“Respect the shorts, please. It is my day off,” Donnie said. “But if I was able to some analysis, I’d tell you that—“ 

“Raph was here,” Leo interrupted him. 

“Let’s not jump to conclusions there, Leo,” the soft-shell replied. 

Leo gestured to something on the wall with his thumb. 

The teens followed his direction and saw the words ‘Raph WHZ’ on the sewer walls, written in red liquid. 

“Maybe this Raph’s seen our Raph,” Mikey pondered. 

“This isn’t good,” Mizuki realized. 

“We’d better hurry,” Leo said determinedly. 

They later heard loud noises, screaming and thudding, from the other side of the sewer. 

“This way!” Mizuki shouted. 

They ran off to where the noises are coming from as fast as they could. Soon, the four teens found a bridge with small dents on the pathway. 

“Someone could get hurt on this,” Mikey remarked. 

“Let’s see how far it swings!” He exclaimed and rocked it back and forth with his body. 

Donnie held Mizuki close to him while steadying himself on the rocking bridge. 

Leo placed his hand on Mikey’s shoulder. “Chill, I think I found something.” 

He gestured to a large hole in the middle of the bridge. 

Donnie inched towards the hole, his hand tapping his chin. “Once again, I’d love to help bail us all out with my undeniable and prodigious genius, but—“ 

“It was Raph,” Leo interjected, before gesturing to the large tire, which is blocking a sewer hole. “Look.” 

“That’s Donnie’s tire,” Mikey said but changed the words when Donnie and Mizuki glanced at him with raised eyebrows. “I mean, Raph’s tube.” 

“Uh, right,” Donnie stared at him unconvinced before placing his hand on Leo. “Well, Leo, sine you sell the fewest action figures, why don’t you go ahead and jump first?” 

“Ignoring that,” Leo pushed him away. “Raph’s lost because your bad pass ruined the Midnight Special.” 

“Alright, guys. Come on,” Mizuki stepped in between him and Donnie. “Let’s not play the blame game right now.” 

“Leo, chill,” Mikey popped up behind the blue-clad turtle. “We can’t freak out. Nobody freak out.” 

He then shook Donnie by the shoulders. “Stop freaking out, Donnie!” 

The bridge shook suddenly under their weight and broke apart. The four teens screamed as they plummeted towards where the tire is blocking the hole. 

“Make a human shield around me!” Leo shouted. 

They landed on the tire before it fitted through the sewer hole, and they fell through the sewer line until they landed on a muddy lake. 

They popped up and groaned in disgust when they saw themselves caked in mud. 

“Ew, gross!” 

“Oh, this is disgusting!” 

"Guys, we found him!” Leo exclaimed and pointed at a figure hunched over something. “Look!” 

Sure enough, Raph was there in a sewer cave, yet his back was facing them only. 

“Thousand percent, not Raph. Staking my life on it, shorts,” Donnie theorized. 

Leo and Mizuki glared at him. 

“Raph alone!” Raph yelled, still not glancing at their direction. 

Mizuki tilted her head perplexed. Raph never sounds like that whenever she’s around the guys. 

“It might be Raph, but who—who’s to say anymore?” Donnie shrugged. 

Leo grunted and threw a bit of mud at Donnie’s face. 

“This stuff is really caked on,” he complained as the four teens made their way towards where Raph is. 

They climbed up the wall, with Donnie helping Mizuki up. 

“Raph, we found you! You have no idea how—“ Leo stopped short when he noticed Raph standing over the surprised Sando Brothers, who were tied over a fire. “Are you barbecuing villains?” 

Raph grunted and turned around to face the four teens completely. His face was covered in a mud smear, and his irises are no longer visible in his eyes. A cloak was wrapped around his shoulders. 

“More sewer mounters?” He growled. 

“Huh?” Leo and Mikey both said confused. 

“I’m sorry, sewer mounters?” Donnie said and stepped in front of Leo and Mizuki. “Raph, hey, you are harshing the rescue vibes, my man. It’s us, okay? Your brothers and friend.” 

“No brothers and friend!” Raph shook his head and charged at them with his spear ready. “Savage Raph alone!” 

The three turtles and Mizuki screamed and tried to get away from Raph’s attack in time. 

“We’re here to bring you home!” Leo tried to reason with him before he dodged to avoid Raph’s spear. 

“Sewer monsters invade! Must squash!” Raph yelled. 

He threw his spear at Mizuki, who yelped and ducked down in time. 

She was then lifted by the throat and thrashed around in Raph’s grip. She kicked him in the face one time, though it did no good for her. 

“Raph, listen! This isn’t you, snap out of it!” She pleaded with him and grabbed his face. 

“Squash you!” He only replied. 

Donnie and Leo both jumped on his back and fought with him. The move prompted him to release her and instead focus his attention on the two turtles. 

“Get your hands off of her!” Donnie yelled and wrapped his arm around his throat. 

“He still can’t tell it’s us,” Leo realized. 

Mikey and Mizuki saw a flood valve, then back at Raph, before an idea both popped up in their heads. 

“Ready to do some razzmatazz?” He asked her. 

Mizuki smirked at him in reply. They stepped up in front of the flood valve. 

“Whoo-hoo! Raph-a-doodle!” She called, waving her arms around. 

“We’re nasty sewer monsters!” Mikey waved his butt around. “Don’t you wanna come squash us?” 

Raph growled and threw Leo and Donnie off him and charged at the two other teens. Mikey and Mizuki jumped out of the way in time before he slammed himself against the flood valve. 

Water erupted out from the valve and flooded the sewer cave, dragging the turtles, Mizuki and Sando Brothers back into the muddy water. 

“So long, jerks!” One of the Sando Brothers yelled as they floated off. 

The three turtles and Mizuki appeared from the water again and gasped for air. They were no longer covered in the muddy gunk from the lake. 

“Wait, where’s Raph?” Donnie. 

A hand suddenly grabbed him by his board shorts and picked him up. 

“Donnie!” Mizuki cried. 

“Board shorts were my undoing!” Donnie yelled in pain.

“Clean sewer monsters still sewer monsters!” Raph growled. “Savage Raph destroy!” 

He threw a screaming Donnie across the area. 

The Lace Face football rolled out in front of Mizuki’s feet. She picked it up and her eyes lit up at the thought of an idea. 

“Hey, guys,” she called out to Leo, Donnie, and Mikey. “Ready for the Midnight Special?” 

She threw the football in the air, and the three mutants understood what she had planned. 

“Huh?” Raph hummed confused. 

Mikey leaped from the ground and kicked it towards Leo. “Look alive, Leo!” 

Leo laughed and rolled the ball around with his arms. “And trick passing!” 

He threw it to Donnie, who jumped up and kicked it over his shoulder. “Sports!” 

“No!” Raph yelled and rushed for the football. 

He caught it with ease and laughed before throwing it down. “Yo, did y’all see that?”

Mizuki laughed and ran up to hug him, followed by the others. “It worked!” 

“Raph!” Donnie exclaimed. 

“You’re back, baby!” Leo said relieved. 

“Back? Uh-oh, did I get weird again?” Raph asked worriedly. 

“Super weird, even by my standards,” Mikey remarked. 

“But we learned a valuable something about never something-ing you alone again,” Leo added. 

“Aw, I love you guys,” Raph said and walked out of the sewer cavern followed by the others. “Now let’s go home and try tubing again tomorrow.” 

*****

Mizuki studied the scar on her back, her fingers tracing the line the best they could. She used her phone mirror to see the scar on her back better. 

“How in the world did I forget that?” She wondered. 

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Donnie trying to avoid her gaze while slurping his drink. 

She couldn’t see his face, but she knew that he was ashamed and uncomfortable about something. 

“Donnie?” She softly placed her hand on his shoulder. 

He flinched at her touch, yet tried to keep his focus away from her. 

“Uh, sorry, didn’t see you there,” he fibbed while slurping on his drink uncomfortably. 

Mizuki walked around him to see his face clearly. She had a firm grip on him so he wouldn’t be able to turn away from her. 

“I think I know why you’ve been acting this way since the Botanical Garden fight,” she softly told him. 

Donnie still didn’t take a glance at her, even when she is standing in front of him. “Everything’s all good, Mizzy. Nothing to be worried about...” 

“Donnie...” Mizuki interjected, raising a soft, yet stern eyebrow at him. 

He sighed with finality. “Since the Botanical Garden thing, I just thought I was gonna lose you. And not only that, I felt guilty for letting this happen to you.” 

Mizuki stared at him with sympathy and surprise. 

“Yeah, sorry I’ve been acting like this the whole time,” Donnie apologized. 

Mizuki sighed after he revealed the truth. “It’s not your fault, only mine. I was determined to not let Draxum or the Foot Clan get the armor piece, and I guess I was stubborn to not think before I do something. Whatever happened back there was not your fault.” 

She gently cupped his cheeks and turned him towards her. “We all make mistakes in our lives. Being with you, even though you’re a mutant turtle, is not one of them.” 

Donnie beamed at her softly, and she smiled back at him. She then leaned up and kissed him in the lips for only a few seconds and pulled away. 

“So, have you decided to do some water improvements on the Turtle Tank?” Mizuki later asked Donnie as they walked down to the garage. 

He turned on the lights while sipping on his drink. “Well, I’ve been looking over some designs, and I would be very happy to show you some—“

The two stopped short when they saw the tires missing from the Tank, which fell back to the ground and crushing bricks that were holding it. 

Donnie gritted his teeth and unintentionally gripped on his pineapple cup too hard, causing it to squelch and splash juice over him. Mizuki jumped from the sudden splash. 

“Raph!” Donnie yelled.


	45. The Mutant Menace

The words ‘Cybersleuth’ with a head of Albearto appeared on the screen, then changed to the scenarios where the turtles and Mizuki had encountered Albearto and other enemies and destroyed places by accident. 

“Birthdays ruined. Parks destroyed. Museums vandalized.”

The screen changed to a figure wearing a discarded Albearto head and holding a flashlight under them. 

“Tonight on Cybersleuth, I reveal the culprits. Beware the Mutant Menace and Green Lightning!” 

“Mutant Menace and Green Lightning! Ohmigosh!” Mikey panicked as he watched the video. “They’re talking about us!” 

“I can’t believe we’re getting blamed for this!” Leo stated. “Virtually everything in there was somebody else’s fault! I think.” 

“So unfair. Although it is a boost for my emotionally unavailable bad boy image,” Donnie said. “‘Y’ello.’”

“Though I can’t help but wonder where I’ve heard that voice before,” Mizuki wondered, tapping her chin in thought. “I just can’t put my mind into it.” 

“Look, guys. I think this might be an opportunity to turn a dark cloud into a silver lining,” Raph beamed reassuringly. 

He then pulled out a book from behind him. “You fellahs ever read this fine piece of literature?” 

Donnie and Mizuki studied the book cover. It shows a wolf cub sweeping the streets while looking happy. 

“‘Horrible Wolfie the Harmless Wolfpup’?” Donnie read the title questionably. 

“You have a kids’ book?” Mizuki asked. 

“Yes, it’s the touching story of a kid wolf who shows up at a town full of humans who all want to run him through with a pitchfork,” Raph explained. 

“That’s supposed to be touching?” Mikey asked. 

“But Wolfie didn’t run away,” Raph went on. “He performed loving deeds for the hateful townfolk, and they welcomed him into their hearts!” 

“And how is that relevant to…this whole situation?” Mizuki asked next, gesturing to the turtles.

"That’s what we’ll do,” Raph replied. “We’ll get in our giant tank, and smash people in the face with good deeds!” 

“Yeah! We are good-doers!” Mikey cheered. 

“Oh, this is gonna look great on my college application!” Donnie exclaimed. 

“It does seem risky, but it’s worth a shot,” Mizuki agreed. 

“Any votes for staying home during the anti-mutant panic?” Leo implied hopefully, raising his hand. 

No one seemed to answer him. 

“No? Okay, leggo!” 

*****

In the Turtle Tank, the turtles and Mizuki drove down the streets of New York in the evening. 

“Now each time we do a good deed, we’ll leave behind one of our friendly calling cards,” Raph explained the plan. 

“This good deed brought to you by the ‘Mutant Menace and Green Lighting’,” Mikey showed a card with the words ‘Mutant Menace’ in bold letters and winked. “Winky face. Who wouldn’t love this?” 

Mizuki chuckled lightly before her smile fell. She rubbed her forehead to ease the pain that had been nagging her for a while now. 

For the past days since the last battle with Draxum and the Foot Clan, Mizuki had felt this strange feeling grow in her. She didn’t know how, but it has been getting stronger and stronger every day. 

‘Are those powers I have in me telling me something?’ She pondered in her head. 

Donnie saw his girlfriend rubbing her head and became worried. “Mizzy? You feeling okay?”

He placed the back of his hand against her forehead and saw that it was warm. “No fever or anything. Are you sure you’re not sick?” 

“I’m alright, Donnie,” Mizuki answered gently. “Just had a minor headache. Pretty sure it’ll go away.” 

“Well, let me know if you need to lie down, okay?” 

She nodded at him reassuringly. 

Throughout the evening, the turtles and Mizuki did the best they could to solve any problem that was happening over New York and left behind the cards for the citizens to know about their deeds. 

During that time, Mizuki kept hearing voices in her head, incoherent whispers, but she could understand what they were telling her.

She then decided to ignore those whispers and focus on helping the brothers do good deeds for New York. 

But what they didn’t know was that their plan was going to end badly for them. 

*****

Later on in the morning, the turtles and Mizuki celebrated their long night of doing good deeds. 

“Boys and Mizzy, we’re good-doers. And what do good-doers do?” Raph smiled proudly. “They good-do, and they good-do it well!” 

“New York is going to adore us,” Donnie commented. 

Mizuki pressed a button, and a screen popped up, showing the news. Her heart dropped upon seeing it. 

“Uh, guys?” She nervously said. 

The turtles heard her and watched the news as well. 

“In local news, a team of heartless pranksters dubbed the ‘Mutant Menace and Green Lightning Evil Winky Face’ are wreaking havoc across the city. We go live to unpaid E-reporter, Cybersleuth.” 

The screen then showed the aftermath of the deeds the guys and Mizuki had done over New York. 

“A fire rages. A canary flees for its life. A Maltese is trapped in concrete.” 

The same figure with the Albearto head appeared from below. 

“What do these tragedies have in common? The horrible villains called the Mutant Menace and Green Lightning!” They showed one of their cards to the viewers behind the screen. 

The turtles and Mizuki gasped in horror. 

“What?” Raph exclaimed displeased. “We call ourselves the Mutant Menace and Green Lightning as a joke! That’s why we used the ‘just-kidding’ quotes, and the just-kidding winky face!” 

“Raph, you know I love you, but people don’t focus on punctuation when they’re stuck on concrete,” Leo wrapped an arm around him. 

“There’s something familiar about that disguised voice,” Mikey said, his eyebrow raised suspiciously. 

“I know the same thing, Mikey,” Mizuki agreed. 

“No doubt you’re wondering who I am,” the figure continued. “I am none other than…” 

He ripped off the Albearto head and smiled evilly. “Boy genius Baxter Stockboy!” 

“What?” Mikey yelled. 

“Baxter Stockboy!” Leo, Mikey, and Mizuki both shouted shocked. 

“I am not looking forward to whatever that highly-skilled under-achiever has in store for us,” Leo rolled his eyes annoyed. 

“You and me both, Leo,” Mizuki added. 

“Never fear, New York,” Stockboy said. “I will expose these monsters for what and who they are! I have been tracking them from the Stock-N-Shop Blimp.” 

“He’s tracking us?” Raph asked horrified. 

The screen then showed the Turtle Tank in the middle of the street. 

"Hey, we look like a giant turtle!” Mikey said. 

“Yeah, everybody was saying ‘go stealth, go stealth’,” Donnie piped in. “But come on, look at us. We all kinds of bad!” 

Mizuki studied the screen better, and her eyes grew with realization. “Uh, guys? That giant turtle is us!” 

“You, too, can track the Mutant Menace and Green Lightning by accessing the Baxter Stockboy Live Stream, available for a reasonable fee,” Stockboy said. 

“We can’t let anyone see us,” Leo hastily said. “We need to get home muy rapido.” 

Raph shoved Leo aside and started the Turtle Tank. 

The vehicle drove down the streets until it came across a large crowd with pitchforks. 

“What the—?” Raph pressed the stop pedal, prompting the Turtle Tank to stop. 

“It’s them! The Mutant Menace and Green Lightning!” Someone shouted. 

“Get them!” Another yelled. 

“You know, you don’t normally see pitchforks in Mid-Town Manhattan,” Leo remarked. 

“Oh, mama, people are getting rustic out there!” Mikey said. 

“We were trying to be nice to them,” Raph said. “Have they never read ‘Horrible Wolfie’?”

“Ah, force shields down 50%,” Donnie reported. 

“Wait a second, we have force shields?” Leo asked the soft-shell turtle. 

“We do not,” Donnie replied deadpanned. 

The trash wizard landed on the windshield with an angry expression. The turtles and Mizuki shouted in fright. 

"You shall not pass!” 

“Raph, get us out of here!” Mizuki commanded. 

Raph yelled and drove the Tank away from the angry crowd. The trash wizard flew off the windshield and landed onto the street. 

“Donnie, talk to me! How far are we from them?” Mizuki asked. 

“We lost them!” Donnie told her. “I think we’re good now.” 

The Tank suddenly thrusted forward, and the teens yelped in fright from the sudden move. 

“Oh, Raph-a-la, would you mind easing up on the gas, dear friend?” Donnie asked panicking. 

“I can’t, the throttle’s stuck or something,” Raph replied unsurely. 

He tried the brakes and the steering wheel, yet nothing wouldn’t work. The joysticks moved on their own, even when Raph wasn’t touching them. 

“No brakes, no steering! Donnie, what’s going on?” 

“Oh, no, oh, no!” Donnie yelled and checked his arm computer, then sighed with content. “Ah, okay, whew. Good news, guys. My engineering is fine.” 

“The bad news?” Mizuki gasped terrified. 

“Oh, and something’s taken control of the Turtle Tank,” he answered while checking on his arm device. 

“Look out!” Mikey cried. 

The Tank was heading straight towards a street full of traffic. 

“I’m trying the taxi rockets!” Raph narrowed his eyes and pressed a button on his steering joystick. 

The engines of the taxi rockets powered up and the Tank instantly sped down the streets, with Raph taking control for a moment. 

The Tank flipped up in the air and landed on the walls of the buildings before speeding along. 

Mizuki yelped and nearly fell off the floor, but Donnie grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up close to him. 

The Tank flew back to the earth and drove down the pathways again. 

“Wow, nice work, Raph,” Donnie told Raph. “But we can’t keep this up forever. Those rockets have limited fuel.”

Leo tried opening the door, but it was jammed. When he looked outside, he saw a little robot trapping the door shut. 

“Trapped?” He asked horrified. “I knew being nice to people would get us in trouble.” 

Another little robot ate its way through the control console and opened up a red screen. 

“Chell-o?” Mikey asked cheerfully. 

“Mikey, we do not ‘chell-o’ the enemy,” Raph scolded. 

The screen revealed Stockboy smirking smugly at them. 

“Oh, mutants and young lady, you no doubt have noticed my microbes are in control of your vehicle.” 

The Tank swerved to the side, and Donnie and Mizuki steadied themselves with ease. 

“What’s your angle, Stockboy?” Leo glared at Stockboy. 

The younger boy laughed evilly before pressing something on his controller. “Just watch!” 

“New York, I will deliver the Mutant Menace and Green Lightning to the steps of City Hall in five minutes!” He declared to the people of New York. “Subscribe and donate to my live stream to witness the spectacle! Or see it in person, if you dare. Premium tickets are on sale on my website. We accept cash, credit cards, cryptocurrency—” 

Mizuki growled and slammed her fist on the microbot and destroyed it in one hit. A few small green bolts flickered from her fist. 

“What is with this kid? He’s going to expose us all to New York just for money?” Leo said agitatedly. 

“Yeah, we don’t have money, and we get by just fine,” Raph stated. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, we are poor as dirt,” Donnie said as he used his robo arm to count dollar bills. 

He yelled when the Tank hit something and dropped the dollar bills but held onto Mizuki. 

Raph tried using his steering joysticks, but they didn’t move like he wanted them to. 

“I can’t steer and I can’t stop!” 

He yelled when he saw that they were heading straight for people on the sidewalk. 

“Step aside!” Leo shoved Mikey aside and waved his sword around over him. “It’s portal time!” 

“No!” 

“No, stop, no!” 

“Leo, don’t you dare!” 

Leo didn’t listen to their warnings again, and a portal opened up in front of the Tank, sending it to another place. 

The mouth of a large yokai monster opened up, waiting for the Tank to fall through. 

The teens screamed in fear and clung onto one another. Leo yelped and waved his sword around again, creating another portal that leads them back to New York. 

They all stumbled back and grunted. 

“Hey, one of Leo’s portals didn’t work, we all totally expected,” Donnie said deadpanned. 

He saw the escape hatch and lit up. “Oh, Newton’s apple! How could I forget the floor hatch?” 

He put in the code and the floor hatch opened. “I can just shimmy out and see if—“ 

Raph stopped him before he could crawl out. “No time for that. I’ll go.” 

Raph jumped through the floor hatch, only to be stuck halfway through. He grunted and struggled to break free. 

“Donnie! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!” Raph yelped in pain, as if he was being hit by something. “Make this hatch bigger!” 

Mizuki winced from every impact that landed on him. 

“I made it to your specs, but that was when you were in your ‘doing sit-ups every day’ phase,” Donnie remarked. 

A hard hit from outside the Tank caused everyone to stumble around and attempt to steady themselves. 

“Three minutes to the reveal of the Mutant Menace and Green Lightning!” Stockboy declared. 

“What do we do, what do we do, what do we do?!” Mikey asked terrified. 

“We send this gasbag on the highway to helium!” Donnie sat on the bowling ball launcher seat and pressed the launch button. 

Lone bowling balls from the launcher hit the blimp and sent it crash-landing to the ground, but Stockboy escaped through a parachute. 

“Okay, we’re out of jet fuel, we’re out of bowling balls, and we’re going to be exposed to New York smelling like the inside of this Tank!” Leo wailed in despair. 

Mizuki pondered about what she needed to do before she had an idea. 

“Leo, do we still have nature’s bowling ball?” She asked and looked at Mikey. 

The younger turtle realized what she’s talking about and smiled widely. “Oh, yeah! Me, baby!” 

He popped into his shell and rolled onto the launcher. “Launch me, baby!” 

Mikey was shot out through the launcher and flew up in the air, swinging his kusari-fundo around. 

“Mystic whip grip!” he threw the end of his weapon and stuck it on the end of the tank. 

He landed on a wall pole and pulled on his kusari-fundo with all his might. 

The Tank was slowing down, yet it didn’t stop. 

“It’s too strong! I can’t stop it!” 

Mizuki heard those voices again in her head. They were getting louder and louder by the second. 

This time, she decided not to ignore them anymore. 

She climbed out through a different hatch, one that the micro bots didn’t notice, and stood on top of the taxi rockets. 

“Uh, Mizuki, what are you doing?” Leo called from inside.

“Are you out of your mind?!” Donnie, who had seen her from inside the taxi, screamed frantically. 

She ignored the turtles’ warnings and closed her eyes. Placing her hands on the taxi roof, she concentrated as hard as she could. 

‘Be with me. Be with me. Be with me...’

Neon green energy slowly appeared from her palms and surrounded the Tank. Donnie gasped in wonder at the strange occurrence. 

When Mizuki opened her eyes, they were glowing neon green instead of deep violet. 

The energy soon engulfed the Tank and lifted it with its invisible force. 

Mikey gasped and was suddenly pulled back towards the Tank by the energy. 

“No, no, no!” Donnie yelled when he saw they are getting near the City Hall and the angry crowd. 

“There they are! They’re right behind you!” Stockboy pointed at the Tank and Mizuki. 

The Tank, which is carried by Mizuki’s energy, lifted fully off the ground and flew behind the crowd and turned to another direction. By the time the Tank was gone, the crowd had already turned around and now threw various vegetables at Stockboy. 

“Phew, Mikey and Mizzy with the save!” Mikey cheered. 

However, he suddenly saw a tow truck with a ramp in the back ahead of them and yelled. 

Mizuki, unfazed by the turtles’ screams, pressed her palms against the roof of the taxi again. The Tank lurched forward and flew off the tow ramp and into the air. 

The turtles screamed as they sailed across the sky. 

They soon landed on the Hudson River before the Tank began to sink slowly. 

The microbots shut down due to the contact with the water and sunk to the depths. 

Mikey slid down the windshield and smiled widely at Leo. 

“Nice one, Mike. You see that, Raph?” Leo turned to Raph. 

They both saw that Raph was still stuck in the floor hatch and gurgling while trying to hold his breath. 

Mizuki sighed and fell to the side, her eyes rolling back and changing back to the deep violet. Donnie caught her gently by the arms and pulled her in the taxi rocket and laid her on his lap. 

“Um, hey, Donnie, we’re sinking, and Raph is swallowing the Hudson River,” Leo stated nervously. 

“Do you really think I would have built this Tank without an amphibious mode?” Donnie asked.

He pressed a button, only for a kazoo to blow and a banner to lower from the ceiling. 

“Oh, that is the wrong button. Here we go,” Donnie pressed another button. 

Airbags appeared from the sides of the tires, and the Tank was now floating in the water. Raph gasped for air and was pulled out from the hatch with ease. 

Mizuki moved a little bit and groaned before opening her eyes gradually. “What happened?” 

“I’ll explain everything later,” Donnie answered softly. 

Later on, after some explaining about Mikey and Mizuki’s heroic stunt and Stockboy now being arrested for the stunt he had pulled on New York, the teens sat in the Tank and lamented about the whole event. 

“Well, I guess we’ll never get people to accept us for being good-doers like Wolfie,” Mikey said, devastated. 

“But at least it’s worth a try,” Mizuki remarked, attempting to lift the mood. 

“You’re right, Mizzy,” Raph, who had a towel on his head, beamed at her in agreement. “And we’ll keep trying, because we’re the ‘Mad Dogs’, winky face!” 

“Hey, uh, Raph, did you ever finish reading your book here?” Donnie asked as he read the book. “Because turns out after the villagers accept Wolfie into their hearts, he eats them all.” 

“Wow, that’s not touching,” Mizuki cringed. 

“I got to start reading stuff to the end,” Raph said to himself.


	46. Turtle-dega Nights: The Ballad of Rat Man

“So those powers in me, Papa? Do you really think I could be the Emerald Storm?” Mizuki spoke with her father.

They are both standing outside the arcade, with Donnie and Mikey playing their racing game. The two turtles were too busy to listen to Mizuki and Garrett’s conversation.

“Well, the Mystic Protectors looked over the prophecy those Foot men told you about,” Garrett replied to her. “And Jupiter said it’s possible that you’re the Emerald Storm.”

“But why me? Why am I chosen for this?” Mizuki glanced down at her hands.

“Who knows? Maybe you and your friends are destined for greatness,” Garrett shrugged, smiling down at his daughter.

She pondered about what he had told her and glanced back down at her hands.

“How would you boys like to enter your tank in a father-son car competition?” Splinter asked from inside the arcade.

Garrett and Mizuki peeked behind the doorway to find Splinter speaking with Donnie and Mikey.

“You want to enter my design in a father-son competition?” Donnie squealed with delight.

“Ohmigosh, dreams do come true!” He shot up from the arcade seat and spun Splinter around before letting him go.

Splinter landed on the shoulders, and they both headed down to the garage.

“I thought we were playing it cool,” Mikey whispered.

Mizuki and Garrett blinked at the rat mutant with raised eyebrows and stared at each other.

*****

Down in the garage, the two humans soon found the two turtles and Splinter circling the Turtle Tank.

“Wow. That’s incredible, Donatello,” Garrett remarked amazed. “How long have you worked on that?”

“Well, I don’t want to rat out on your daughter, but we’ve taken it off Repo Mantis’s hands and I’ve decided to upgrade it to a better vehicle,” Donnie explained.

“Repo’s one of those mutants we’ve encountered beforehand,” Mizuki said to her father.

“Ah, I see,” Garrett nodded.

Splinter hummed and studied the tire. “So like how much damage can this thing take?”

He swung his cane at the tire and grunted with each hit. Donnie cringed at his father hitting the Tank.

“It is a tank, so she’s probably pretty good on defense,” Mikey said, scratching the back of his head.

“Maybe we add another armor shell just to really protect your creation,” Splinter suggested to Donnie.

“Great idea, Dad. Can’t be too careful,” Donnie lit up. “She is my baby. I mean, if anything happened to her, I’d...I’d be lost.”

Mizuki cleared her throat, her arms crossed across her chest playfully.

“Oh, and of course, if Mizuki’s hurt or dead, I’d lose my mind, too,” Donnie added.

The blue-haired girl smiled at him appreciatively.

“What kind of car competition exactly is this?” Mikey asked suspiciously.

“It is, um...a car fair,” Splinter replied. “You know, like where people bring their prized cars out to be pet and shown off...like a pig or spider.”

Garrett and Mizuki both raised an unconvinced eyebrow at him before glancing back at one another.

*****

The two turtles, two humans, and Splinter soon drove down the streets of New York in the Turtle Tank. Splinter sat in the driver’s seat in a baby booster, leaving the three teens and Garrett to sit in the front and back seats.

“This booster seat is amazing,” Splinter remarked. “I can actually see. No more guessing what that thing I ran over was.”

“I do feel bad for that poor thing, though,” Mizuki mumbled, her father nodding his head in agreement.

“I’m so glad you like it, Dad,” Donnie gave his dad a thumbs-up.

“Excellent work, son,” Splinter said, beaming. “This is going to be a glory-filled night. You have made me very—“

Donnie gasped with excitement as Splinter spoke.

The brakes screeched suddenly, and Donnie fell backward.

Splinter yelped with delight. “We’re here!”

Donnie pulled himself back up and he and Mizuki both noticed what he was gesturing to.

A large dome with spikes on the roof stood before them, with the words ‘Doom Dome’ shining.

“Uh, this is the place?” Mizuki asked uncertainly.

“Cool, cool, cool. Abort,” Mikey whispered frantically. “We are in danger.”

“Mikey, I think he was about to say ‘proud’,” Donnie’s eyes sparkled with happiness. “Oh, it felt amazing. I’m gonna chase this feeling.”

“I don’t know about this, Splinter,” Garrett said while holding his daughter close. “Are you sure this is where the car competition would be?”

“Yes, yes, I’m very certain. Let’s move,” Splinter answered quickly before driving the Tank towards the Dome.

The five then drove through the gateway, then a tunnel that would lead to the place.

“What kind of fair is this?” Mikey asked to himself.

Mizuki swore she saw someone eyeing her creepily. She whimpered terrified and scooted closer to Garrett, who sensed her nervousness and cuddled her closer to him.

“Hey, ice cream,” Donnie broke the tense silence when he noticed an ice cream cart nearby. “Say, Dad, want share one?”

The youngest turtle groaned with fear when he saw they were nearing the center of the Dome.

“You boys and girl ready to have some fun?” Splinter asked.

“You bet we are,” Donnie turned around on his seat and beamed at his father. “We are number one—“

“Look out!” Mizuki cried.

The turtles and Splinter reacted too late, for the Tank was suddenly hit by another vehicle and flipped around on the earth.

“My baby!” Donnie shouted.

Apart from Splinter, who laughed and held onto the wheel, Mizuki, Garrett, and the two brothers screamed as they flipped across the ground. The Tank soon stood upright, followed by the lights of the Dome being turned on.

The audience cheered in the auditorium.

“The last entry,” the pigeon concierge declared on the screens above. “Seal them all in.”

The gates around the Dome closed tight.

“Last car standing wins!”

A trophy of a steering wheel appeared on the holographic screen.

“Did you bring us to a crazy mutant demolition derby?” Mikey asked horrified.

“Who is ready to win some glory?” Splinter pulled out a pair of sunglasses and placed them in front of his eyes.

“As much as I wanted some glory, this is not what I had in mind,” Garrett fearfully answered.

Splinter pressed the go pedal, and the Tank lurched forward.

A few other cars chased after the Tank, some of them hitting the vehicle on the sides.

“I thought you said they’d be petting my baby, not destroying her!” Donnie yelped as he saw the Tank shields going down to 80%.

Splinter only laughed and turned the steering wheel over and hit one of the competing cars.

“Tonight’s special. Roadkill,” Meat Sweats growled.

“Who is that?” Garrett asked, gesturing to the pig mutant.

“This guy? Oh, he doesn’t like us,” Mikey remarked.

Another vehicle slammed itself into the Tank’s side, prompting them to tumble around.

Repo Mantis grunted when he recognized the three teens.

“Who is that?” Garrett asked louder.

“He doesn’t like us either!” Mizuki replied.

Hypno-Potamus crashed his truck to the Tank and pulled up next to them. “What are they doing here?”

“And who in the world is that?” Garrett noticed the hippo mutant, his eyes growing with terror.

“He not only doesn’t like us, but I kinda broke his heart,” Mikey said solemnly.

“Long story, Papa,” Mizuki said to her father.

“What have you kids been up to?” Splinter raised a questioning eyebrow.

They saw a news van flip up in the air and land on the dirt with ease. Warren Stone laughed evilly and smirked at the teens and adults.

“Hm, never seen him before,” Mikey commented.

“Who’s that?!” Garrett asked.

“Let’s just assume for the moment everyone here doesn’t like us!” Mizuki replied.

“Everybody here is a villain. We gotta get out of here!” Donnie commanded.

Stone’s truck collided with the Tank again, but it pulled away at the last second.

“Battle stations. If we are going to win the trophy, then we—“ Splinter started.

“Wait a minute,” Donnie stopped and glared at him suspiciously. “What is going on here?”

“A little of this, a little of that,” Splinter replied nonchalantly. “All in the name of fun.”

“This is not fun!” Donnie yelled and pulled the brake lever.

The Tank stopped in the middle of the coliseum before they got hit by one of the villain mutants’ vehicles. The Tank flipped upside down and became stuck, with the villains circling them.

“You said this was a car fair!” Donnie shouted. “You knew I wouldn’t come if you told me it was a demolition derby!”

“Donnie, please…” Mizuki tried to plead with her boyfriend.

“Turn this tank back on now, or else I will—“ Splinter began.

“Or else what? You tricked us into coming here,” Donnie snapped back, tears about to storm in his eyes. “You said you wanted to spend time with us! You lied!”

Splinter’s eyes softened at his soft-shelled son’s words.

“Donnie!” Mizuki gasped horrified.

Garrett and Mikey, meanwhile, noticed the villain mutants’ cars circling them.

“Uh, guys, maybe we could have this family discussion at a later, safer time,” Mikey said nervously.

“Yes, I agreed with Michelangelo here,” Garrett added.

“Donatello—“ Splinter started.

Mikey gasped in terror.

“I may have lied about this event,” the rat mutant continued. “But I never lied about wanting to spend time with you. I would have not brought you here if I did not.”

Donnie glanced up at him before staring at the floor discontent.

Mikey, Garrett, and Mizuki saw the villain mutants’ cars gradually coming to a stop and facing them.

“Um, great. Everyone loves everybody. Now let’s—“ Mikey quickly said.

“if you had just asked me to hang out with you, I would’ve had said yes,” Donnie told his father. “I like spending time with you, too, Dad.”

“Oh, Donnie…” Mizuki said softly.

“This will be the last time any of us hang out if we don’t—“ Mikey piped in fearfully.

“You are right,” Splinter interrupted him while still speaking to Donnie. “I went a little crazy. I just…”

He glanced down at his hands and sighed. “I wake up every day as a tiny rat man, and I wanted some glory back in my life. I’m sorry. Take me home, kids.”

“Yes, great idea! Let’s get out of here!” Mikey agreed hastily.

The villain mutants’ cars finally started towards the Tank.

Donnie closed his eyes before they opened up back to determined. He quickly ran past his dad and Mizuki and sat on the driver’s seat.

“Donnie?” Mizuki asked.

The Tank started again, its headlights lighting up upon the move. The vehicle moved up on the spider legs and shot a bowling ball at one of the mutant villains, which exploded.

The Tank then flipped back up on its rightful position.

“Got him. All right, let’s win this thing!” Donnie beamed proudly. “Dad, drive!”

Mizuki smiled calmly at her boyfriend.

“What, Donnie? You do not need to do this,” Splinter insisted. “We can just—“

Donnie placed his hand on his shoulder. “Dad, you’re awesome, okay? You’re the guy who introduced us to Lou Jitsu. And, yeah, sure you’re a rat, and it probably would’ve been cooler if you were a tiger or something, but that’s not the point. The point is, if winning this means that much to you…”

He threw his dad back on the driver’s seat. “Then hit that button, daddy-o.”

Splinter grunted and caught his sunglasses and put them back on. He pressed a button on the armrest, and the engine revved.

The Tank sped across the dome, hitting Meat Sweats’s car in the process. Stone’s car was sliced by a saw on the dirt before exploding. Hypno’s car was the last one to be destroyed in the Dome.

“Ha, ha! We did it!” Garrett cheered and hugged his happily screaming daughter.

“We did it, people,” Splinter said. “I am so prou—“

He haltered and his smile fell.

“Proud? Proud. You were gonna say proud,” Donnie said to him, his eyes sparkling with excitement. “Why do you keep stopping it right before—“

Mikey turned his head towards where Splinter was looking at and his smile also fell.

Mizuki and Garrett gasped when they saw Big Mama entering the Dome with her own car.

“A last-second entry!” The pigeon concierge declared. “The greatest Death Tube champion of all time…”

“Who is that?!” Garrett shouted with fright.

“Big Mama!” The pigeon concierge announced.

“Big Mama!” Both Donnie, Mikey and Mizuki yelled with terror.

“Hello, Big Mama,” Splinter softly said, pulling down his sunglasses.

Big Mama’s car hit the Turtle Tank in the front, sending it flying against the wall. They avoided the rockets that were aimed at them and sped across the Dome with Big Mama still behind them.

“Shields at 15%,” Donnie saw the shields about to be destroyed.

“What are we gonna do?” Mikey hugged himself fearfully. “I’m too pretty to be crushed!”

“Get ready to launch the Shell Hogs,” Donnie got up from his seat. “I’ll draw her fire, and when’s she got me lined up, you take her out.”

“Donnie, you can’t,” Mizuki placed her hand on his chest, stopping him.

“We don’t have a choice,” he held her hand and stared into her eyes. “But it’s the best way to defeat Big Mama.”

He pecked her on the lips before he started for the floor hatch. Splinter was the one to stop him this time by placing his hand on his shoulder.

“Bring home the win, kids,” Splinter threw Donnie to the side tenderly and jumped through the hatch.

“I’m going in with him,” Garrett added and headed towards the hatch.

“What? You can’t—“ Donnie started, but was cut off when Garrett helped him up from the floor.

“You’re a brave and honorable man, Donnie,” he told the teen turtle. “But I’m not gonna let you carry this dangerous task at this time.”

He set him off to the side, leaving him confused and shocked, and went through the hatch to the Shell Hogs.

Splinter and Garrett flew off the Tank on the Shell Hogs and drove towards Big Mama.

“Papa, no!” Mizuki cried.

“Father!” Mikey yelled tearfully.

The two adults drove up next to Big Mama’s car on each side and rove off in another direction. The spider mutant hissed and charged her vehicle at them.

“Hey, it’s working,” Mikey said. “They took the bait!”

The genius tech turtle stopped the Tank so they could watch the whole thing unfold.

“Be careful, Papa!” Mizuki shouted to her father.

Splinter and Garrett drove the Shell Hogs straight to the Tank, with Big Mama still chasing behind them.

“Heading your way, kids!” Splinter called. “You’ve got one shot!”

“Oh, yeah!” Mikey held the steering wheel and pressed the go pedal.

The Tank lurched forward and started for the spider Yokai’s car.

“Come on. Come on,” Donnie mumbled, trying to lock the target on Big Mama.

Splinter and Garrett suddenly got shot off the ground by one of the bellhops, just before the Tank soared up in the air and over Big Mama and her men.

“Donnie, now!” Mizuki yelled.

"And boom goes the dynamite!” Donnie pressed a button on the joystick and fired lasers at the vehicle.

Big Mama’s car exploded, and the Tank landed safely on the ground again.

The smoke cleared to reveal Big Mama hissing weakly and climbing over her car before slumping in defeat.

The audience cheered wildly for the teens’ victory.

“The tank wins! The tank wins!” The pigeon concierge declared happily.

Mizuki searched the rubble for any sign of Splinter and her dad. Splinter and Garrett climbed out through the rubble and smirked victoriously.

“Yes, we did it!” Donnie shouted ecstatically.

“Whoo-hoo!” Mikey hugged his brother.

Mizuki jumped up and down and kissed Donnie in the lips and cheek.

Splinter saw a cat yokai, who waved at him, and winked. The cat yokai yelped in a fangirl tone before clutching her chest and falling backward.

He chuckled sheepishly and glanced at his sons and Mizuki, who cheered triumphantly.

“I gotta admit, Splinter, your sons are really good at this,” Garrett commented proudly to him.

“And so is your daughter,” Splinter replied.

Garrett beamed at him before glancing up at his daughter with a grin. Mizuki grinned back and giggled.

Splinter exhaled with wonder and pride. “My boys. I am so proud.”

“Did you just hear that?” Donnie quickly asked, surprised at the word.

Mizuki chuckled at his reaction.


	47. The Ancient Art of Ninja Hide and Seek

Raph chuckled and flipped the pizza box around before setting it down on the table. “Yes!” 

The box opened up to reveal a pizza pie piping hot and ready. 

The three other turtles drooled at the sight of the pie. “Whoa…” 

Mizuki stood by the boys with her arms folded. 

“Okay, rock-paper-scissors for the first slice,” Raph challenged playfully. “Me and Mikey are up.”

“It’s funny how Raph always starts against Mr. ‘Only Chooses Scissors’,” Leo whispered to Donnie, rolling his eyes. 

“One, two, three…” Raph and Mikey slammed their fists down. 

When they stopped on the fourth slam, Mikey’s hand was shaped to be scissors, while Raph’s was a rock. 

“Oh, not again!” Mikey whined in defeat. “How do you do it?” 

Raph only laughed haughtily as he held a pizza slice. 

Someone clapped their hands, and the lights were all turned off. 

“Huh?” 

The lights were all turned back on, and Raph went to eat his pizza slice. 

His mouth was only met with space, the slice now gone. 

“Pizza slice gone!” He yelled, the others staring at his hand shocked. “Which of you creepoids took it?” 

Someone clapped their hands again, the lights turning off at the command. The teens yelped panicked until the lights turned on once more. 

The pizza box was now empty of slices. The turtles and Mizuki screamed in fright. 

“The table’s eating our pizza!” Mikey cried. 

They heard chewing from the other side of the kitchen and saw a chair move in the shadows. 

“It’s the chair!” Mikey pointed at it. 

The turtles and Mizuki both grunted and pulled out their weapons in a flash. Splinter spun around while eating the pizza slice. 

“Wait! Pops?!” Mikey exclaimed. 

“Mm, yes,” Splinter ate the rest of the slice completely. “And so begins your next lesson.” 

“Let me guess,” Leo said sarcastically. “How to starve your enemies to death?” 

He ended up having a pizza slice thrown at his face. 

“No,” Splinter answered sternly. “Today, you learn the art of ninja stealth and invisibility, the foundation of every great ninja.” 

“Lights-off-jutsu,” he clapped his hands, commanding the lights to go off. 

Leo only had a second before they went back on, and the pizza slice was gone from his hands. “What? Ugh. You couldn’t have done this last week when Mikey cooked Brussel sprouts?” 

*****

On a building roof, the turtles and Mizuki watched Splinter, whose back only faced them as he stood on a billboard. 

“You must remain sleek and nimble,” he instructed the teens. “So no weapons today. After my lessons, you will be ready for a mission inside Big Mama’s Yokai Hotel.” 

“How do you know about Big Mama?” Mizuki questioned. 

“I have heard stories,” Splinter replied to her. 

He spun around swiftly with his hands behind his back. “Ninja invisibility lesson number one. Keep to the shadows...” 

He slid behind the shadows of the billboard and disappeared. 

The turtles and Mizuki stared at where he used to be with shock and astonishment. 

“Lesson number 2. Blind spots...” Splinter appeared behind the teens repeatedly. “Use your enemy’s blind spots to advance across the battlefield.” 

“Lesson number 3. Be as light as a feather...” Splinter then darted around the roof area swiftly. “As quick as a really fast feather. Move quickly and softly.” 

His tail slowly approached from the side and went to grab Donnie’s bo-staff. “Lesson number 4. Slooow moootion Juuutsuu.” 

“Please, like you could possibly sneak up on—“ Donnie was cut off when he saw his bo-staff gone and in Splinter’s hand instead. “Hey, give me back my Tech-Bo...and wallet.” 

Splinter laughed and tossed the bo-staff aside. “Now, using your new skills, sneak up on me and attack.” 

“Here I come!” Mikey shouted. 

“Ninja tip. Do not announce attack,” Splinter instructed, not even facing the teens.

“Roger that,” Mikey saluted. “Watch me stick to the shadows, baby.” 

“Lights-off-jutsu!” He clapped his hands two times. 

Nothing happened, as the others stared at him unimpressed. 

“Uh, I don’t think the sun can be turned off at will?” Mizuki stated. 

“Really? You think you can turn off the sun?” Splinter asked him unamused. “No more fooling around.” 

“I’ll show you fooling around,” Raph stepped up. “‘Light as a feather’-jitsu activate.” 

He started stomping on the roof, which only sent hard ripples across the ground. The teens and Splinter yelled while tumbling around. 

The water tower on the roof broke from Raph’s hard stomping and flooded the roof. The teens and Splinter fell off the building roof and moaned after they landed on soft piles of garbage. Mizuki was sitting on Donnie’s lap as he sat on a garbage bag. 

“Boys, you are not kindergartners,” Splinter lectured while standing on a trash can. “Focus. Lesson five. Blending into your environment.” 

He threw a smoke bomb on the ground, and he was gone when the smoke cleared. 

“What? Where’d he go?” Raph gasped. 

“We’ll never find him,” Leo added. 

“Yeah, he’s way too smart for all of us teenage turtles,” Splinter came up wearing a turtle disguise. “Right, my dudes?” 

Apart from the brothers, Mizuki was the only one who knew Splinter was in disguise. 

“Tiniest brother is right,” Mikey piped in. “He could be that pigeon, or that moped, or that trash pile!”

The four teens narrowed their eyes and charged at the trash pile. 

“Guys, wait!” Mizuki shouted. 

She was too late to warn them, and the turtles are scattered across the trash pile. 

“Well done, my sons,” Splinter congratulated them sarcastically. “You just beat up a big pile of garbage!” 

He hit the turtles on their heads, prompting them to grunt in agony. 

“It was me all along,” Splinter removed the disguise to reveal himself to the teens. 

“Whoa,” they all gasped. 

“I tried to warn you guys,” Mizuki told them. 

“Amazing,” Raph remarked. 

“What a disguise,” Leo said. 

“Tricked by the master,” Donnie commented. 

“But you’re not a turtle. Oh, wow,” Mikey added. 

Splinter sighed and facepalmed himself. 

*****

Back on the building roof…

“Maybe the only way to get through to you boys is fear,” Splinter told the brothers and Mizuki. “I am sending you rodeo clowns on a mission right now.” 

“You must sneak into Big Mama’s and grab the tags off her demon dog Gus,” he instructed them. “If that vicious beast cannot get you to focus, then nothing will.” 

“Now go!” He commanded. 

“Yeah!” Donnie groaned as he carried Mizuki in his arms, the others grabbing on his leg. 

They flew off to Big Mama’s hotel, with Donnie doing everything in his power to not drop his girlfriend and brothers. 

*****

“Three days,” Mizuki mumbled, sitting behind Donnie and Mikey. “Three days, and we’re still in this frickin’ hotel.” 

“Will you calm down? We’re almost to the elevator,” Mikey whispered to her. 

They are currently hiding in a cart, a white blanket over them to keep them concealed. 

Loud shouting and frantic running caused the three to stop in their tracks before they were suddenly passed by a large mob. 

“Let’s go! Let’s go! High alert, high alert!” Someone yelled. 

The noises soon stopped as the mob disappeared around the corner. 

“What was that?” Mizuki asked. 

“Don’t know, but we’ve made it to an elevator,” Mikey said. 

The three rolled themselves into an elevator and stopped. 

Someone gasped, and they tensed and heard someone mumble something. 

“Is that Gus? Grab his tags,” Mikey silently said. 

“I cannot because it is the bellboy,” Donnie replied. 

“Another floor down. We just need to figure out how we’re gonna do it,” Mizuki pondered. 

“I got this. Lesson number four,” Mikey smirked. 

He reached out from underneath the cart in a slow-motion move. “Slow…motion…justu.” 

He pressed a button on the elevator panel and gradually brought his arm back in. 

Mizuki rolled her eyes annoyed. 

A ding indicated that they’ve reached another floor and the elevator's doors opened. Donnie instantly moved the cart forward with his legs sticking out from behind. 

Mizuki saw a shadow through the white fabric and gasped. “Donnie, stop!” 

He did when he heard her frantic voice and nearly lost the urge to scream when Gus noticed the cart they were in. 

Gus sniffed the air and growled. “Something doesn’t smell right.”

The three teens heard sharp knots appearing and tensed up. Mizuki whimpered, and Donnie wrapped his arms protectively around her. 

They then heard Gus charging at them, but then the footsteps were replaced by a dish top being removed, Gus taking something from the top of the cart and throwing it back on the empty dish. 

“Thanks for the snack, food cart. You’re no longer on my to-pounce on list,” he said before walking off. 

Mikey, Donnie, and Mizuki popped their heads out through the fabric and sighed in relief. 

“We blended,” Mikey smirked. 

“Now what?” Mizuki asked. 

“We need to find the others,” Donnie replied. 

The three later climbed up the stairs with their feet while still in the cart. 

“Wheels on stairs, not my finest decision,” Donnie remarked. 

“You think?” Mizuki raised an eyebrow. 

Leo jumped out from behind a door and landed on the food cart they were hiding under, sending them tumbling back down. 

“What in the world is wrong with you, Leonardo?!” Mizuki yelled at him. 

“Look out!” He pointed at the chasing bellhops and Gus. 

They all screamed and ran down the stairs and through the hallways, with Donnie holding Mizuki by the hand. 

They, unfortunately, bumped into Raph and flew towards a wall, which opened up and flipped them to the other side. 

They got up from the ground and noticed they are in a hidden room with a lava lamp in the middle. 

“A lava lamp?” Mizuki asked confused. “Who in the world has a lava lamp in the center?” 

“Ninja-hide somewhere ninja quick,” Raph hastily said. 

Gus appeared through the wall opening and growled. “You can’t hide from me.” 

The bellhops appeared through the wall gateways and snarled. 

“Big Mama’ll want to see you, loves,” the owl bellhop glowered at them. 

Donnie glared back at them and stepped protectively in front of Mizuki. “So for like a general “hey, how you been sesh’, or—“ 

“Come on! Let’s make pops proud!” Raph interjected. 

“Lights-off-justu,” Mikey clapped his hands two times as he did before. 

“Oh, come on, Mikey. Like that’s gonna—“ Donnie stopped short when the lights turned off and disco lights appeared around the room. “I will never doubt you again.” 

“All right, boys and Mizzy,” Raph smirked. “Keep to the shadows.” 

When one of the disco lights passed them, the teens were already gone in a millisecond. One by one, they took down the bellhops while avoiding being seen by Gus. 

The dog mutant growled and stood on all fours. “Those turtles and that girl think they can sneak up on me, they’ve got another—“ 

The lights then turned back on, and Gus snarled as he searched the room for the turtles and Mizuki. 

Mikey and Leo smirked, hiding behind the lava lamp before they quietly and quickly moved to another position. Mizuki hid behind the shadows of the room and signaled for Raph and Donnie to go ahead. 

Raph snuck up behind Gus and laughed quietly. 

He slowly reached up to unlock the dog tag from the mutant’s neck. 

The dog tags fell into Donnie’s hands as he laughed quietly. 

The teens then quickly rushed out of the room, leaving Gus to sniff out their scents. 

*****

Some time later, the turtles and Mizuki cheered and celebrated their victory of their mission. 

“We got it!” Raph held up the dog tags. 

“Yeah!” Leo cheered. 

“One demon dog’s dog tags,” Raph smirked. 

“My sons and Mizuki,” Splinter began. “Your persistence and dedication knows no bounds. Yes, your methods need work…much, much, much, much, much work. But I am honored to be your teacher, and proud to be your father.” 

“Aww,” Mikey whined happily. 

The turtles stared at Splinter with eyes sparkling. Mizuki smiled proudly at the rat mutant. 

They all hugged him and cheered again. 

“Go and celebrate,” Splinter told them. 

The turtles agreed and flew off again, with Donnie holding Mizuki bridal style and his brothers grabbing onto his leg. 

"Love you, Dad!” Mikey called. 

Splinter beamed at them before his smile fell and he glanced down at the dog tags.


	48. One Man's Junk

With Donnie and Mikey having already passed flyers for mystic metal needed, the turtles and Mizuki waited at their custom store. Raph and Leo were the only ones who doubted Donnie and Mikey’s plan. 

And Mizuki...she did not want to choose sides, even after Donnie and Mikey asked her first before Raph and Leo did. 

“I don’t know about this plan,” Raph said skeptically. “If we want to find the last pieces of the Dark Armor, shouldn’t we be out there chasing down rumors and shaky leads?” 

“It’s called crowd-sourcing, Raph,” Donnie replied, using his goggles. “Why bust our own humps—“ 

“When there are thousands of yokai in the city who can bust their humps for us?” Mikey added, wearing a glasses-and-mustache disguise. “They schlep their scraps to us, and we just chillax here and see if any of it is part of the Dark Armor.” 

“Okay, I do like the laziness angle,” Leo said and leaned back on the chair. “But I’m not taking sides…yet.” 

He fell backward and grunted upon impact. 

“Well, I hate to be with Leo on this one, but we’re basically making anyone who’s a yokai do all the work for us,” Mizuki piped in uncertainty. “Isn’t that a bit…selfish?” 

“Oh-ho, dear, sweet Mizuki,” Donnie laughed and twirled her around until he caught her by the waist and held her close. “How soon you forget that our plan is better than Leo and Raph’s doubts.” 

A man stepped through the hand-made door with a box in his hands. 

“Ooh, a seller!” Mikey gasped in delight and smirked at a scowling Raph. “See what happens when you give our ideas a chance, Raph?” 

The man cleared his throat and placed the box on the desk and opened it up for the others to see. Donnie slid up and pulled down his goggles to examine the object in the box. 

“Excuse me, we are a reputable fly-by-night organization,” Donnie scowled when he found only a fidget spinner. 

He kicked the man out angry. “How dare you bring that worthless garbage in?!” 

Leo, Raph, Mikey, and Mizuki poked their heads out beside Donnie. 

“Aha! Epic plan fail!” Leo laughed. Donnie turned to another direction and beamed. “We haven’t failed yet.” 

The others turned towards where Donnie was gesturing to and noticed a yokai walking down the street with a different box in his hands. 

“The glow on that piece is off the charts!” Donnie continued. 

Mikey laughed. “Told you, Raph! Dark Armor, here we—” 

He was instantly cut off when Repo Mantis’s truck appeared out of nowhere and blocked the poor yokai in his path. 

“Hey! You owe me money!” The mantis mutant barked. 

The hook with the chain flew off and hit the yokai in the face. The action forced him to let go of the box and Mantis took it in a flash. 

“Now we’re square!” Repo laughed evilly and drove off with the mystic metal. 

“No!” Mikey wailed.

“Oh, come on!” Mizuki groaned. 

“Repo-stinkin’-Mantis?!” Donnie yelled and kicked the sign that they made. 

“Now you see why I have my doubts?” Raph asked. 

“Of course I do,” Leo slid up next to him with a smug smirk. “Which is why I’ve been on Team Raph this whole time!” 

“My turtle!” Raph fist-bumped him. “Member since day one.” 

“Relax. We know where he lives,” Mikey reassured them, wrapping an arm around Donnie. 

“And he doesn’t realize that we are going there to get that piece back,” Mizuki smirked. 

*****

The turtles and Mizuki soon arrived at Repo’s junkyard in their Turtle Tank the next day. 

“Now, here’s the plan,” Raph smiled smugly. “We’re gonna smash our way in, and keep smashing until we smash that armor piece right into our smashy little hands.” 

“It won’t be easy to destroy that piece like the last one back in the Grand Central Station,” Mizuki pipped. “According to Splinter, it can place itself back together on its own.” 

“Yuh-huh,” Donnie agreed. “And while you were planning your predictable Smash-capade, Michael and I were crafting a superior plan based on our and Mizuki’s extensive knowledge of the subject.” 

He snapped his fingers, and Mikey slid up to Raph and Leo with a folder in his hands. 

“Question—who is Repo Mantis?” The youngest turtle placed the folder on the Snapper’s lap, and a few photos flew out. 

Raph picked it up and studied them. The photos were shown to reveal Repo stealing money from various places, like a safe, and celebrating selfishly. 

“Answer—Repo Mantis is...” Mikey said. 

When Raph, Leo, and Mizuki both looked up, Donnie and Mikey are already dressed up in clothes. 

“Motivated by greed!” Mikey finished. 

He had a top hat on his head, another glasses-and-mustache disguise, and is wearing a coat with dress pants. 

“Dolla dolla bills, y’all!” Donnie flipped a spectacle in the air and caught it before placing it in front of his eye. 

He is also dressed up in the same getup as Mikey, apart from wearing the single glasses. 

“Now, you guys in the car, while Donnie and I pose as wealthy junk buyers and smooth-talk Repo into giving up that armor piece, baby!” Mikey said. 

“Sure, this can’t go wrong,” Leo whispered to Raph in a sarcastic tone. 

“But what about me? Should I go also go with you guys?” Mizuki asked. 

“Sorry, my dear,” Donnie replied to her. “It’s best to wait here in the Tank with Raph and Leo. We’ll be back soon.” 

Mizuki internally groaned as Donnie and Mikey both exited the Tank. 

With the two gone, Raph and Leo watched the screen for any sign of the armor piece through Donnie’s spectacle, while Mizuki sat on Raph’s driver seat with a bored expression. 

“Ugh, how long is gonna take for this plan to fail miserably?” Leo groaned. 

The screen beeped a few times when it found no sign of the armor piece. 

Mizuki wanted to agree with Leo’s opinion of the plan, but then again, she didn’t want to turn against her boyfriend and Mikey. 

“Everything is for sale,” Repo told the two as he showed them around the junkyard. 

“Just don’t go in that bus over there,” he pointed at an abandoned bus covered by a mountain of discarded objects. “No matter how much you might think there’s something great in there, do not go in that bus, do you understand?” 

“That’s it. It’s on the bus,” Raph theorized. 

Repo went off to get refreshments for Donnie and Mikey, leaving the two turtles. 

“Great! Now that he’s gone, we can search this whole place,” Mikey said once the mantis mutant was out of ear-shot. “Everywhere except that bus, of course.” 

“Guys, guys, what are you doing?” Raph asked lightly agitated. “You’re wasting your time. If you want to find the armor piece, you gotta check out that bus.” 

“I’m sorry, are you a fake millionaire junk mogul?” Donnie snapped rudely. 

“Yeah, let us handle it,” Mikey added before the screen turned off.

“This is why we should never do their plans,” Raph glared. “They’re wasting time when they should be on that bus.” 

“Yeah, when a bug man tells you not to go on a creepy bus, you get right on that bus, mister!” Leo agreed. 

“Yeah!” Raph high-three-ed Leo. “Creepy bus ahoy!” 

“Ugh, this is taking too long,” Mizuki finally half-yelled and got up from the driver’s seat. “I’m gonna find that armor piece.” 

“Wait, Mizzy! What about that bus? We need to investigate that together,” Raph stopped her. 

“Look, I don’t want to choose sides, and I certainly don’t want to sit around while my boyfriend and his young brother distract a mutant who owns a junkyard to get a piece that’s part of the most powerful object on the face of the Earth,” Mizuki told him. “You guys need to go check on that bus, and let me know if you guys find the armor piece.” 

“But what about Donnie? Do you think he’ll be mad when he finds out you didn’t listen to him?” Leo asked her. 

“Oh, please, you should have seen him when he, Mikey and I went to repo Todd’s old trailer for the Tank,” Mizuki scoffed playfully. 

She jumped out of the Tank as Raph and Leo watched her stroll off. 

She stayed low when Donnie and Mikey are looking through a few piles of trash until she was clear of their sights. 

“Alright, here we go,” she whispered. 

With Raph and Leo on the bus and Donnie and Mikey distracting Repo, Mizuki spent as much time as she had looking over various items that were discarded. The armor piece was nowhere to be found, but she was not going to give in. 

“This would look great on you,” a female voice said. 

Mizuki yelped and spun around to find Hallie holding a fabric flower crown in her hands. 

“Whoa, easy, it’s just me,” Hallie giggled. 

Mizuki sighed and placed her hand on her chest. “Oh, Hallie. Wait. What are you doing here?” 

“What else? Jupiter sent me and a few others to help you and your friends find the rest of the armor piece,” Hallie explained while grinning. “And I just found you here, so, ta-da.” 

“Of course, I’ve forgotten I’ve told her about the Dark Armor,” Mizuki mumbled. 

“So, you want me to help you find that piece that Repo guy took?” Hallie asked her. 

Mizuki smiled softly. “Please.” 

The two girls then searched through the piles for the armor piece, even with no luck in their sights. 

“So...” Hallie broke the silence, sighing and giving her a mischievous smirk. “Tell me about one of those turtles. You don’t seem to talk about him as much as you told your parents.” 

“What’s there to talk about?” Mizuki shrugged without looking at her. “Donnie’s a brilliant genius, he may seem cold, but he’s a giant softie, mind the pun.” 

“No, tell me about that blue-branded guy,” Hallie corrected her. “Leonardo, right? Is he brave and cocky? Smart and dreamy?” 

When Mizuki looked at her, Hallie had a beam plastered on her face that she could tell is dreamy and shy. 

Does she really have a thing for Leo for some reason? 

Mizuki thought about what Leo is really like before she began. “Well, let’s see, he’s...” 

She bit her bottom lip as she pondered. “He’s pretty much a jokester. He tells jokes all the time, even when we’re fighting some mutant villains. He’s confident, and he encourages us when we seem to lose our faith.” 

“But why do you seem so interested in him?” She turned back at her colleague with a perplexed eyebrow.

“Well, in case some jerk decided to flirt with me,” Hallie shrugged. “But he does seem like a nice guy, like Donnie.”

“You can say that again,” Mizuki giggled. 

A loud boom prompted the girls to shout and turn towards the source of the noise. 

“Save yourself!” Raph shouted as he drove the bus. 

A large cat-manti roared while on top of the bus. 

“What in the world?!” Hallie shrieked. 

“Raph, Mizuki! I thought we told you to stay in the Tank!” Donnie yelled, he and Mikey having seen the others and girls. 

“Who are these guys? Turtles? And teen girls?” Repo studied the four with suspicion. “You running some kind of scam on me?” 

“Look out! Hairball!” Leo shouted.

A hairball was shot out from the cat manti’s mouth and sent Repo and Donnie flying. 

“And you let my cat out? Are you crazy?” Repo shrieked. 

The cat manti roared as it stared down the teens and Repo. 

“Tell it we’re friends?” Raph asked him. 

“It won’t help,” the mantis mutant answered fearfully. “Mrs. Nubbins used to be so cuddly until she was mutated into a mantis. Now all she wants to do is eat my head.” 

He yelled when the cat manti started chasing after him and ran for his life. 

“Fun fact: Praying manti often practice cannibalism,” Donnie stated. 

“Really, honey?” Mizuki half-shouted, glaring at him. 

“Not fun for me!” Repo screamed. 

“I think we’re done here. You guys wanna bounce?” Leo asked his brothers and the girls.

“But we haven’t found the armor, and we can’t leave him to get eaten!” Mikey protested. 

“Oh, great. We get to save the guy who once repo’d a birthday cake,” Leo sarcastically said. 

The cat manti was about to swing her paw at Repo, but Leo stepped in the way and made a portal for her paw to strike herself. 

“Power smash!” Raph roared, red energy surrounding him, as he charged at the cat manti. 

Leo ran beside him with his sword ready. However, they accidentally flew into her mouth, before she caught Donnie and Mikey with her tongue. 

Mizuki and Hallie both gasped and winced as the guys groaned with each of the cat manti’s chewing. 

“That’s your boyfriend and his brothers?” Hallie asked, trying to cover her eyes. 

“Yep,” Mizuki nodded. “And I’m starting to think Donnie and Mikey’s plan was better.” 

The cat manti suddenly shot the turtles out of her mouth before she targeted the girls next and snarled hungrily. 

“Run!” Mizuki pulled Hallie by the hand, and they, along with Repo, ran across the junkyard. 

The cat manti roared as she chased around the girls and Repo until they hid behind a separate pile. 

“Why did I think it was a good idea to leave the Tank?” Mizuki mumbled. 

Nubbins knocked down the pile she and Hallie were hiding behind and snarled. 

Mizuki and Hallie screamed as the cat manti went in for the kill. 

Tennis balls were shot at her from somewhere else and sent her running away. 

Donnie laughed as he shot more tennis balls at her with a cannon on top of a car disguised as a mouse. 

“It’s play time, Mrs. Nubbins!” Mikey said. 

With Leo driving the vehicle, Donnie shot more balls at Nubbins and lead her away from Mizuki and Hallie. 

“Whoo, yes! Get her, sweetheart!” Mizuki cheered. 

The turtles continued to drive the mouse-disguised car until they jumped out and watched Nubbins chase after it back in the interior of the mountain. 

“Wow, your boyfriend is a total bad-a,” Hallie remarked amazed. 

“I know,” Mizuki agreed. “Come on.” 

The girls ran off to where the turtles are and found them catching their breaths. The bus was back in the position where it was before Raph and Leo had moved it. 

“Donnie!” Mizuki exclaimed relieved and hugged him in a flash. 

Donnie embraced her back and stroked her hair. “This is exactly why you need to listen to our plan.”

“Hey, I know you,” Leo noticed Hallie and smirked at her in a flirtatious manner. “You’re one of Mizzy’s friends.”

“And you must be her boyfriend’s brother,” Hallie beamed back. “You know, she’s told me about you before the whole ‘manti’ incident.”

When Leo glanced at Mizuki, the blue-haired girl shrugged and smiled. 

“Nice work putting my cat away,” Repo approached the teens, holding a briefcase Donnie and Mikey had given him. “She gets so cranky when she’s hungry.”

Nubbins roared from within the mountain. 

“I’ll feed you soon, my little snuggly-wuggly!” Repo called. 

Mizuki and Hallie both sniggered at the nickname. 

“So, Repo, now that we solved a very important problem in your life—“ Raph started. 

“How about hooking us up with that piece of mystic metal you snagged earlier today?” Mikey finished. 

“What? Mystic metal?” Repo pondered before he lit up. “Oh! That was a special order for a couple of shoe salesmen with flame heads. They picked it up just before youse guys got here.” 

Mizuki and Donnie looked at one another with terror. 

They’d hear about those guys anywhere...

“That’s not good. We gotta go!” Raph said. 

The turtles and girls both headed out of the junkyard, leaving Repo with the briefcase. 

“So we’re too late,” Hallie said deadpanned. 

She groaned and placed her hands over her face. “Jupiter’s not gonna like this!”

“Well, on the bright side,” Leo raised a flirtatious eyebrow at the wavy-haired girl. “At least you got to meet me in person...again.”

Hallie looked back up at him and smiled shyly. 

The sounds of Repo screaming and Nubbins roaring resonated from the junkyard. 

“Should we go help him again?” Mizuki asked the guys. 

They all looked at one before replying with smug grins. “Nah.”


	49. Snow Day

Snow fell from the sky and onto New York City, therefore making today a snow day for the people. 

At Bronx Park, various people and children ran around, while having snowball fights and making snowmen of their own. 

A certain group of teens is having their own fun time. 

“Snow day, hooray! So magical and new,” Raph sang as he pushed a large snowball down the hill. “There’s so much we can do.”

He is wearing a red hoodie jacket with brown snow pants and boots and has a red scarf around his neck. 

“Snow day,” Leo sang next and pushed another large snowball down the hill. “No training, only fun. We’ve only just begun. I’m glad I’m here with you.”

He is wearing a dark blue jacket, pants, and boots, like Raph, and has a blue scarf around his neck as well. 

The two large snowballs rolled up on the slide and fell right towards where Mikey and Mayhem are making snow angels. 

Mayhem saw the snowballs falling and disappeared in a flash of blue. Mikey was unable to avoid them in time when the snowballs fell on top of him. 

“Snow day, hooray!” Donnie sang then as he slid up in front of the snowballs. “Barometric pressure is so low, but my heart is all aglow.”

“Revving up my Tech-Bo!” He pulled out his bo staff, which formed a chainsaw. 

He quickly formed a snowman replica of Jupiter Jim, with Mikey trapped in the icy body. Donnie laughed and his bo staff reformed back to its original self. 

He is dressed up in a coat, snow pants, boots and scarf of his own color, and has a purple hat on his head. 

“Snow day, the perfect day for love,” Mizuki sang next as she slid up next to Donnie. “The time that you get to spend with the ones you truly love.”

She is dressed up in a dark red snow jacket, pants and winter shoes and a crimson fabric around her neck. 

Donnie beamed at her lovingly. 

“Snow day, our snowman is the best,” Mikey got out and placed a space glasses and knapsack around the waist. “‘Jupiter Jim’ fans will attest.”

“Omigosh, my coat’s a vest!” Mikey’s orange coat sleeves fell off, which made his jacket look like a vest. 

He also has a scarf, snow pants, and boots like his brothers. He is wearing earmuffs over his head. 

“Snow day, hooray!” April used her fingers like a frame, sitting on Raph’s shoulders, as she sang. “We all should be so proud.”

She is wearing a dark gray coat, with a green snow hat on her head and a green scarf on her neck, and snow boots. 

“Snow day, all together sing out loud,” she pulled off a helmet from Raph’s head and placed it on the Jupiter Jim snowman replica. 

“Snow day, hooray!” They all sang the finishing note together. 

“Yeah!” April cheered as the other teens laughed. 

“Great job, fam and Mizuki,” Leo said, with he and Donnie marveling at their Jupiter Jim snowman. “And Donnie, I guess.” 

Donnie glared at him for his comment. “If I weren’t so enchanted by the beauty of our replica Jupiter Jim, I’d probably say something like, ‘Look over there—’”

“‘Push!’” Donnie shoved Leo to the side. 

“And for the cherry of top, this flag from ‘Jupiter Jim Sails the Seven Galaxies’,” Raph beamed with his hands on his hips. 

A flag with a red planet and a ship sailing around fluttered against the wind. 

“Best JJ movie of all time, baby!” Mikey agreed. 

“What the what?” April threw Raph’s flag at his face. “Hold up, skip. Jupiter Jim’s ‘Pluto Vacation 4’ is the best JJ movie of all time.”

A flag with a blue planet in the form of a coconut bowl was then covered by Jupiter Jim in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts and relaxing in a chair. 

“Ranked. By us. Just now. So...” Donnie piped in. “It’s basically-official-no-arguing.” 

Raph, Leo, and Mikey only looked at them until they started laughing. 

“‘Jupiter Jim’s Pluto Vacation 4’?” Leo asked amused. “Where JJ spends the entire movie searching for ice before realizing the surface of Pluto...is ice?” 

“Uh, yeah!” April rolled her eyes playfully. “And every time we watch it, you three laugh your heads off.”

“Because Raph always falls asleep and breaks something with his face!” Mikey laughed. 

“Oh, my God, how could I forget that?” Mizuki giggled. 

“Uh, yeah! My face takes damage like a boss!” Raph agreed, gesturing to his face. “Leo, hit me!” 

“Oh, please let me!” Donnie raised his bo-staff, which formed a rocket hammer, and went to attack him. 

“No!” Leo and Mikey both yelled and knocked him down to the snowy ground. 

While the two tried to keep Donnie from reaching his staff, Mizuki couldn’t help giggling at her friends’ antics. 

Hallie snuck up behind Mizuki, but the latter noticed her on time and picked her up like a wrestler fighter before they both fell to the snow and yelped. The girls laughed while still on the ground. 

“You still know that move, even after 3 years,” Hallie chuckled. 

She is wearing a light grey snow jacket, jeans, dark brown snow boots, and a white snow hat.

“What can I say? I learned from the best,” Mizuki remarked. 

Leo, who had seen Hallie, picked her up bridal style and winked at her. 

“May I remind you that we need to move slow, please?” Hallie giggled while blushing. 

“I’d love that,” Leo replied. 

“I’m the oldest. My flag wins. The end,” Raph smiled smugly while holding Donnie back. 

A lone snowball suddenly slammed itself on Raph’s head and sent hitting the snowy earth. Hallie and Mizuki both gasped in shock.

“Hey! Who did that?!” Raph demanded. 

“Was it Mayhem?!” He pointed at Mayhem, who squeaked in confusion. 

“Raph, you were looking right at us,” April glared at him with her arms folded. 

Mayhem also narrowed his eyes at the snapping turtle. 

“What a convenient excuse, April,” Leo added. 

“Yeah! I can’t believe you would weaponize snow just to prove your flag is better than ours!” Raph agreed. 

“Glad to hear you agree our flag is better,” Donnie folded his arms. 

“Our flag eats your flag’s lunch money for breakfast,” Mikey slid up to him, with his arms crossed over his chest. 

“Oh, yeah?” April growled. 

“Yeah!” 

With April connecting her forehead with Mikey and Donnie with Leo, Mayhem glared at Raph and growled. 

“Should we let them decide which of us should be on their team?” Hallie whispered to Mizuki. 

“Probably,” the violet-eyed girl replied. 

Raph and Mayhem both chuckled at an idea. 

“Snowball fight!” The teens, apart from Mizuki and Hallie, shouted. 

“Snowball fight?” The two girls asked. 

“Not expecting that,” Mizuki said. 

Donnie quickly grabbed her by the waist, which prompted her to yelp in surprise, and pulled her close to him. “Dibs on Mizzy in our team!” 

“Hallie’s on our team!” Leo took Hallie by the hand and smirked. 

“Yes! Last player standing gets to fly their team’s flag,” Raph said. 

“Okay. We’re up for a friendly game,” April added. “No safe base, no weapons—“

“No mercy!” She grinned darkly. 

“And no ice balls, no slush balls, no horse poppers, pepper poppers, liberty launchers, downtown hammers, dream hackers, thrashers, no Freddie Prinze Juniors—“ 

Leo wrote down the rules on a notepad, while Raph bounced up and down in anticipation. April and Mayhem both watched and listened to Mikey’s rules. 

Mikey cleared his throat. “No corked snowballs of any kind. We aren’t savages.”

“Speak for yourself,” Donnie whispered while stroking a snowball the shape of a human skull. 

“Way too dark, honey,” Mizuki reminded him and gently lowered his hand that was holding the snowball. 

“Ready...set...snow!” Raph yelled. 

Mizuki threw the first snowball at him in the face. 

Then everything went into fun chaos. 

Throughout the day, the two opposing teams threw snowballs at each other in creative ways, though they sounded like they don’t want to give up yet. 

With Donnie and Mayhem taken down, April and Mizuki avoided Leo and Hallie’s snowballs until landed in April’s face. 

She shook her head to get the snow off and held her thumbs up while smiling. Mizuki leaped in the air and threw two snowballs at Leo and Hallie, knocking them down in the process. 

“Time out, time out, time out!” Raph shouted as he was ambushed by Donnie’s snow attack. 

*****

Hours later, the turtles and girls, with Mayhem, both sat and rink their hot cocoas. 

“You got me good back there, Donnie,” Raph chuckled and poured himself a cup. “But the game ain’t over yet.” 

“Yes, but when it is, my team’s flag will grace our statue and wave like a queen to her subjects,” Donnie replied. 

“Of course, I cannot forget that Mizzy here is my queen,” he then kissed Mizuki on the cheek. 

She giggled, her already red cheeks growing hot. 

Mikey screamed from above and landed on the snow a few inches in front of them. 

“Mikey?” Raph exclaimed. 

“Snow day, hooray, baby!” Mikey sat up in a flash. 

“Dude, that was incredible!” Leo remarked to him. “What was your hang time? Like, two, maybe three sequences?” 

“Yes, sweet sledding, Angelo,” Donnie said. “And may I say, this cocoa is exquisite! Do I detect a skosh of maple malt syrup?” 

“If you paid attention, to ‘Jupiter Jim Sails the Seven Galaxies’, you would know what the secret ingredient is,” Mikey answered to him. 

“Um, you and Leo always interrupt the movie by fighting over who gets to wear the Jupiter Jim costume,” April retorted. 

“It’s true. And Leo licked the captain’s helmet at one point,” Mizuki piped in. 

“Whoa! You’ve never seen the end?” Raph gasped. “That’s why you, Donnie and Mizzy don’t get why ‘Seven Galaxies’ is so much better than the movie you like!” 

“Preach!”

“I hear that!” Both Leo and Mikey clinked their cups of cocoa together. 

“Trust me. Our flag totally deserves to be up there,” Raph reasoned, now being carried by Leo and Mikey to hang their flag up on the pole. 

“Excuse me?” Mizuki asked, rather insulted. 

“Mayhem, could you be a dear for us, please?” She looked at Mayhem and winked at him. 

Mayhem growled and teleported off of April’s shoulders and appeared in front of Raph. The dog-like creature roared and scratched up his face before teleporting him to somewhere high above Leo and Mikey. 

As he landed back in April’s arms, the two turtles screamed before Raph landed on them. Hallie gasped and shielded her eyes, while April gave Mizuki a high-five. 

“Oh, that is fun for me,” Donnie stayed and sipped on his drink.

Raph let out a battle cry and jumped off of Leo and Mikey. “Break’s over! Game on!” 

April threw the first snowball at him, which made him fall and hit the ground. 

The teens went back to their snowball fight, which only lasted for minutes before then. 

A roar echoed across the park before anyone else could throw a snowball. 

“What?” April gasped. 

“Did anyone hear like a sick bird or something?” Leo asked, looking around. 

“Doesn’t sound like a sick bird to me,” Mizuki remarked. 

Donnie gently grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him. 

A large polar bear mutant jumped out from over the hill and landed a meter from the turtles and girls. 

“Peek-a-boo, losers!” Ghostbear cackled evilly. 

“Ghostbear?!” The turtles, April and Mizuki gasped terrified, with Mayhem squeaking with fright. 

“Ooh! Love the new look!” Raph exclaimed, stars in his eyes. 

He ran up to Ghostbear and pulled out his phone. “Ooh! Hey, can I get a quick selfie?”

“Oh, every time with this guy,” Donnie groaned in annoyance as he and his friends watched Raph take pictures with a bored Ghostbear unamused. 

“I’m sorry, you know him?” Hallie asked her blue-haired friend, gesturing to Ghostbear. 

“We’ve had a couple of incidents with him beforehand,” Mizuki quietly replied. 

“How about a scar to remember me by?” Ghostbear growled, raising his fist. 

Mizuki and Hallie both screamed when he went to punch Raph from behind, only for his fist to go through his chest. Raph laughed and took another pic of the event. 

“What is this?” Ghostbear gasped as his fists returned to their living form. “I can switch between bear and ghost?” 

He chuckled and punched Raph straight in the face, sending him flying against a tree. 

The snapping turtle groaned and slid down to the snowy earth. 

“Uh-oh,” Leo winced. 

“Raph, are you okay?” Mizuki asked worriedly. 

“He hit Raph so hard, he almost went straight through our snowman!” April said. 

“But our snowman’s okay, right?” Leo asked. 

“So it’s the man of snow you love?” Ghostbear smirked darkly. “Then I will destroy it!” 

He roared and charged towards the teens who are standing in front of the snowman. 

“Mayhem, lil’ help?” Leo asked terrified. 

Mayhem disappeared in a bulb of blue, leaving the turtles and April to run with their snowman in tow. 

“Mizuki, Hallie! Run for it!” Donnie called to the two other girls. 

Mizuki instantly grabbed Hallie by the hand and ran alongside the brothers and April as Ghostbear chased them down. 

He eventually caught up with them and stalked towards them, laughing evilly. 

“He’s too fast. Leo, sacrifice yourself to buy us time!” Donnie said. 

Mayhem appeared in the sky again with the teens' weapons and landed in front of them just as they caught their specific weapon. 

“Thanks, buddy!” April acknowledged. 

“Okay, fam and girls!” Raph smirked. “Nobody messes with our snowman! Now let’s beat this boxing bear like Jupiter Jim beat those space pirates!” 

“How dare you use this dire moment to plug in your obviously lesser movie—“ Donnie glared at him. 

“Donnie!” Mizuki cried. 

The turtles and April screamed as Ghostbear roared and flew in the air straight for them and the snowman. 

Mizuki and Hallie both shielded themselves from the snowy impact and gasped when the smoke cleared. The turtles and April also gasped when they saw their snowman destroyed. 

“No!” They all cried. 

“Come on!” Donnie wailed. 

Ghostbear cackled sinisterly, seeing his task done. “Bien.”

“You’re a monster—not because you look that way—“ Leo gestured to him with his sword. 

“But because you ruined something we collectively cherished!” Donnie finished, pointing at him. “Humbug upon you, sir! Humbug!” 

“Yeah, we all love Jupiter Jim,” Raph added before turning to his brothers and friends. “Which movie is better doesn’t even matter. If I’m being real, I love how Donnie performs all the musical numbers when we watch ‘PV4’.” 

“I’m impressed how well he can sing,” Mizuki remarked. 

“And I do like how Raph gets stuck in a pirate accent after we watch ‘Seven Galaxies’,” Donnie said. 

“I try to stop, but it be too hard,” Raph finished with a pirate accent. 

“Villain over here!” Ghostbear tried to catch their attention. 

“It’s watching the Jupiter Jim movies together as a family that makes them so special,” April concluded. 

“Bring it on. Come on,” Raph gathered his brothers, the girls, and Mayhem in a group. 

“Aww! I’m tearing up over here,” Mikey wiped a tear from his eye. 

“Oh, how sweet,” Ghostbear mocked and snuck up behind them. 

He threw a strong punch at the ground, sending the teens flying across the snow. 

“Uh, perhaps we should save this sweet moment later?” Mizuki suggested. 

“Perfect idea, Mizzy,” Raph smirked before glaring at Ghostbear. “Mad Dogs, ahoy!” 

Raph went to punch him with his tonfa, but Ghostbear formed to a ghost before changing back to live form and grabbed Raph by his coat. He threw him to Donnie and knocked them down. 

Leo came up next and slashed his sword at Ghostbear, who unfortunately changed back to a ghost while the blue-branded turtle did so. 

As he stopped to catch his breath, Ghostbear punched him and sent skidding through the snowy ground and in front of Hallie. 

“Leo!” Hallie gasped and knelt to his level. 

Mikey swung his kusari-fundo around and went to attack Ghostbear with it. The weapon only hit April when she came up from behind Ghostbear to ambush him. 

The polar bear mutant roared and bounced at Mikey. 

“Oh, no!” The box turtle whimpered. 

“Mikey!” Mizuki grabbed him in time and pulled him away before Ghostbear landed on where he used to be. 

They quickly hid on top of a few trees as Ghostbear hunted them down from below. 

“Should we call animal control?” Leo asked, holding Hallie close to him. 

“Won’t do any good,” Mizuki replied. “Even if we did, he’s still powerful against them.” 

“We could use the flags to blind him,” April suggested. 

“But Ghostbear only stays solid when he’s attacking us!” Mikey added. 

Raph shushed them quickly, but then the tree the others were on suddenly broke. They all screamed and fell towards the snowy ground.

Mizuki grunted when she made contact with the earth. Despite the snow making the ground soft, the landing still hurt like hell. 

“Mizzy!” Donnie scooped her up bridal style while crouching on the ground. “You okay?” 

“Not in the least bit,” she replied. 

“I got it!” Raph shot up from the snow after he had fallen from Ghostbear’s attack. “You guys stay close enough so he’s attacking and stays solid. We’ll use our icy environment just like Jupiter Jim did!” 

“Wow, full circle,” Donnie remarked. 

“Sounds like a good shot,” Mizuki beamed. “Let’s do it!” 

While the turtles readied themselves in their positions, April, Mizuki, Hallie, and Mayhem distracted Ghostbear. 

“Yoo-hoo! Fuzzy wuzzy bear-man!” April called. 

Mizuki and Hallie both waved their arms around while blowing raspberries. Ghostbear growled and started for them. 

“All yours, Mayhem,” Mizuki told the dog-like creature. 

Mayhem teleported from April’s shoulder and appeared behind Ghostbear. He wrapped one of the Jupiter Jim flags around Ghostbear’s eyes as the bear mutant screamed. 

“Mikey, now!” April shouted. 

“Cowabunga!” Mikey threw the wires of his kusari-fundo around Ghostbear, trapping him. 

“I’m afraid of the dark!” Ghostbear cried. 

“Figured you would be!” Hallie commented. 

Raph punched the top of the park fountain and water spewed out. Leo created a portal, sending the water straight for Ghostbear. 

Mayhem leaped away and landed in Mizuki’s arms as the water overwhelmed Ghostbear. 

“Donnie, would you like to do the honors?” Mizuki smirked at her boyfriend. 

“Let’s see you phase through my hexagonal crystalline solid, AKA ice!” Donnie changed his bo-staff to an ice laser and fired ice at Ghostbear in the water. 

The water gradually changed to frozen liquid from the ice beam’s contact. 

“Tortugas!” Ghostbear growled. 

“Guys, it’s working!” April said. 

Ghostbear groaned and reached for a pole just before he was completely frozen by the ice beam. 

“Yeah!” The turtles, girls, and Mayhem all cheered. 

“We did it! It worked!” Mizuki whooped victoriously and was spun around by Donnie by the waist. 

“Awesome job, fam-o!” Raph congratulated. 

“Raph, for the cherry on top, why don’t you put your flag up there?” April glanced at him. 

“I've got a better idea,” he replied and removed his scarf. 

The others did the same and placed them on the pole. Their scarves now fluttered through the wind. 

“Since we all love ‘Jupiter Jim’ equally, and we all worked together as equals to put Ghostbear on ice, our flag should represent all of us,” Raph stated proudly. 

Donnie smiled and wrapped his arm around Mizuki. Leo also beamed and held Hallie’s hand while she rested her head on his shoulder. 

“Wait, wait, wait. How come Raph’s is on top?” Leo asked.


	50. Bonus Chapter (Tangled Love)

“‘Tangled’?” Mizuki examined the movie cover, her hand on her hip. 

Donnie studied the cover over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow. 

They were having a movie night with the other turtles and April, and this movie was the first thing Leo had picked out. 

“You kidding? Look at you two, you are so like the two protagonists in the movie,” Leo reasoned with them. “Mizzy’s the long-haired, feisty damsel, Donnie’s the hunky, charismatic thief/soft-hearted, brave hero. You guys are the perfect parallels.”

Mizuki and Donnie both gave him unamused stares. 

“Really? You think we’re like the two main characters in this film?” She asked him. 

“Think about it,” Leo went on ecstatically. “Mizzy with 70-feet long hair that heals the ill and injured, trapped in a tall tower and held hostage by a woman—think Big Mama—who uses her to keep herself young. Donnie—a dashing, smart bandit with a heart of gold—comes across the tower, Mizuki strikes a deal with him to take her to see the lanterns that appear on her birthday. They embark on a crazy adventure, find out they love each other during the lantern celebration, she finds out she’s the lost princess, they save each other from their fates, and then—“ 

“Alright, alright! We get it!” Donnie interjected annoyed. “You don’t have to tell us the whole thing!” 

“Is that why you chose this movie, Leonardo?” Mizuki implied. “Because you’re comparing us to the two protagonists?” 

“Let’s just start watching it,” Raph interrupted. “Pretty sure we’ll save the conversation for later.” 

Mizuki and Donnie glanced at one another with perplexed expressions. 

Halfway to the end of the movie, the other teens were all awake, apart from Mizuki, who rested her head against Donnie’s shoulder. 

He tried to focus on the movie playing, but his eyes were becoming too stubborn to stay open. The voices belonging to the characters on the screen began to fade away as everything in his vision became a blur. 

Not even a minute later, and darkness finally engulfed his view. 

*****

He blinked a few times before he looked up from his unintentional slumber. His head was throbbing hard from whoever had hit him. 

Since when did someone hit him on the back of the head? 

Donnie tried to move his arms and legs, but they somehow became restricted to the chair he was sitting in. He glanced back down, only to find some form of rope trapping his wrists and legs...

Wait...that’s not rope. And since when they become blue?

He could tell because the long ‘rope’ lead from the chair he was trapped to the various places of the area. 

“Is this...hair?” He mumbled. 

He peered back down again and saw that he was no longer wearing his tech shell, but wearing a purple vest, white shirt, brown vest, and boots. His skin was not green as well, and when he glanced at a mirror beside him, a pair of brown eyes and a human face of himself stared back at him. A head of messy, brown hair was on his head instead of his signature bandana. 

When he took a better view up, he instantly realized that he was not in Mizuki’s apartment, but in the tower from the movie they were watching. 

“Hold the phone…” 

“Struggling won’t get you anywhere,” a female voice appeared from above. 

Donnie paused and noticed a figure on top of the roof railings. He raised an eyebrow as the figure jumped off the railing and landed on the ground on both feet. They seemed to be holding a frying pan in their hands. 

“I know why you’re here, and you don’t frighten me,” the figure continued. 

“Wait, what?” Donnie asked perplexed. 

The familiar girl stepped out of the darkness and revealed herself to him. He could have sworn he could feel his cheeks growing hot upon seeing her. 

The girl is wearing a dark red dress with a gray corset and black shoulder puffs. Her bangs are still the same as well as her eyes, but they’ve grown longer than he remembered. 

“Who are you, and how did you find me?” The girl demanded softly, gripping the frying pan. 

He didn’t answer her, apart from mumbling as he stared at her strange beauty. 

“Who are you, and how did you find me?” She asked louder, raising the frying pan higher. 

Donnie shook away his amazement and became serious, his cheeks turned back to their…tanned-skinned color. “Look, I don’t know how I found you, but can you please at least tell me what’s going on?”

“And who else knows my location, Othello Von Ryan?” The girl aimed her weapon at his face. 

How in the heck did she know his human name?

“Look, Miz—“ 

“Mizuki,” she finished for him. “And if I may ask, how did you know my name?” 

“Long story,” he answered. “Listen, I was resting at home, but then when I fell asleep…” 

He paused when he noticed Mizuki staring and tilting her head at him astonished. 

That’s right, he must have climbed up in the tower before he was knocked out. 

“Right, I was getting chased,” he changed the story. “I came across your tower, and…” 

“I know about you taking the crown,” Mizuki smirked at him. 

He paused and looked at both sides of him. The satchel, just like in that movie. She’s hidden it somewhere. 

“Where is it?!” He asked, panicking. 

“I’ve hidden it, somewhere you will never look for it,” she smiled smugly, crossing her arms. 

“Wow, you are totally smart,” he remarked, glaring at her. 

“Now, I’ve prepared to offer you a deal,” she told him, walking towards a curtain covering something. 

“Deal?” Donnie asked irritated. 

“Look this way,” she pulled her hair. 

The chair that was tied up by the hair spun around and fell to the ground, prompting Donnie to yell in pain. 

Mizuki pulled back the curtain to reveal herself staring at lights in the mural. “Do you know what these are?” 

“You mean the lantern thing they do for the Princess?” He asked while his face was squished against the floor. 

“I see,” Mizuki nodded. “Well, tomorrow evening, the night sky will light with these lanterns. You will act as my guide, take me to these lanterns, and then, and only then, will I return your satchel to you. That is my deal.” 

“Yeah,” Donnie grunted and pushed himself up to the side. “No can do. Unfortunately, the kingdom and I aren’t exactly ‘simpatico’ at the moment, so I won’t be taking you anywhere.” 

Why is he saying the same thing as the main hero in the movie? This isn’t real. This can’t be real…

Mizuki jumped down from over the fireplace and glared at him. 

“Something brought you here, Othello Von Ryan,” she pulled her hair towards her, standing Donnie back up. “Call it what you will. Fate, destiny…” 

"A captain and his horse,” Donnie replied deadpanned. 

“So I have decided to trust you,” Mizuki continued as she stepped forward to him. 

“A horrible decision, really,” he said deadpanned again. 

“But trust me when I tell you this,” Mizuki growled. 

When she pulled her hair harshly, he nearly fell over. She caught him in time and was now meeting him face to face. Donnie blushed harder when he was close to her nose. 

“You can tear this tower apart brick by brick,” she told him. “But without my help, you will never find your precious satchel.” 

Donnie cleared his throat and looked straight into her eyes. “Let me see if I can get this straight. I take you to see the lanterns, return you home safely, and you’ll give me back my satchel?” 

“I promise,” Mizuki nodded. 

He stared at her unamused. 

“And when I promise something, I never, ever break that promise,” she said. 

He raised an eyebrow at her, still unamused. 

“Ever,” she said lowly. 

He paused for a moment before he had an idea. If he was to play as the main hero of the movie, then he can act like one. 

“Alright, listen. I did not want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice. Here comes the smolder.” 

He glanced down at the floor and peered back up at her with his lips pursed together and his eyebrow raised in a flirty manner. 

Though her cheeks turned red, Mizuki didn’t dare leave her glare away from him. 

Donnie blinked, yet he didn’t move his face for a second. 

“This is kind of an off day for me. It doesn’t normally happen,” he whispered to her. 

He groaned in defeat and rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll take you to see the lanterns.” 

Mizuki gasped in excitement and accidentally let go of the chair. “Really?!” 

He fell to the floor again face-front and grunted in pain. 

“Ooh,” she winced at her mistake. 

“Yep, you’re a lot like my Mizuki,” he groaned. 

*****

The rest of the quest to see the lanterns celebration had been exhausting, yet it was thrilling while it lasted. 

It was exactly like the movie, but the characters in there were somehow familiar to him as they progressed through the whole thing. 

Raph, Mikey, Señor Hueso, the yokai, April, and Sunita, who are now humans in this world, are playing as the people from the Snuggly Duckling, or rather, the ‘Cuddly Cubs’; Leo was playing as the captain’ horse but in human form; and there’s the Purple Dragons, who are taking the places of those Stabbington Brothers from the film. 

He had remembered that he had betrayed them for the crown they had taken from the Kingdom at one point before he came across the tower. 

Then why does he feel like he wanted it back so badly? 

Before the day that Leo caught up with them and they had gotten to the Kingdom celebration, Mizuki had explained that her mother had told her that since she was a baby, people had tried cutting her hair and take the powers for themselves; however, once the hair is cut, her hair would turn ebony black and lose its powers, thus the reason why Mizuki was never allowed to leave the tower in the first place. 

Donnie had realized it’s like the movie, and that he had almost seen the ending of the film before he had fallen asleep. But he didn’t want to reveal that yet, though he wanted to. 

Then, surprisingly, it was his turn to tell his backstory: Hamato Donatello, an orphan who was left at an orphanage at a young age and turned to the adventurous stories of Othello Von Ryan; a young lad who placed himself in misadventures to get by the hard times. 

It wasn’t until he was about to fall asleep that he was starting to fall for her all over again...

The next morning, Leo’s caught up with them and about to take Donnie to jail, only for Mizuki to stop him in time and make a deal for him not to chase each other for 24 hours. Leo, of course, complied, with the exception of the two glaring at one another for a while. 

At the Kingdom, Donnie and Mizuki got to spend more time with each other before the start of the lantern celebration. They spent the rest of the day dancing in the town square, reading in the library and helping Mizuki learn new things. 

Hell, at one point, he saw her finish a ground masterpiece of the Kingdom’s symbol. He was really impressed with her work. 

As soon as the sun was starting to set, the kingdom dance was concluded with Donnie and Mizuki holding each other and staring into their eyes. 

Oh, God, he’s really falling for her all over again...

*****

Later on, at the village, Mizuki and Donnie sat in a boat on the water. He rowed the boat as she looked up at the sky.

Donnie looked back at the dock where Leo was.

He sighed and reached down to grab a bag. “Hey, Leo!”

He threw the bag at the dock that spilled out some food and a knife.

“Tell me you didn’t steal them,” Leo looked at Donnie questioningly. 

"What? I bought them!” The brown-haired man assured him and began to row again.

Leo smiled and knelt to pick up the items that fell out of the bag.

“Well, most of them,” Donnie smirked. 

The former captain looked up, confused.

Mizuki chuckled and looked back at Donnie. “Where are we going?”

“Well, best day of your life,” he smiled at her. “Figured you should have a decent seat.”

After a couple of minutes of rowing, he stopped.

They were far away from the dock, but the view of the Kingdom was perfect and beautiful.

Mizuki smiled at the castle, but then sighed and looked at the water.

He saw the worried look on her face and became concerned. 

“You okay?” He asked.

“I’m terrified,” she confessed.

“Why?” He was confused.

“I’ve been looking out a window for eighteen years, dreaming about what it might feel like when those lights rise in the sky,” she hesitated and looked back up at the Kingdom. “What if it’s not everything that I dreamed it would be?”

Donnie smiled at her. She was so beautiful. “It will be.”

She chuckled softly. “And what if it is? What do I do then?”

“Well, that’s the good part, I guess. You get to go find a new dream,” Donnie blushed and beamed at the girl next to him.

She smiled back at him, her cheeks a light pink.

They both looked up at the Kingdom again.

Later on, she decorated the water with flowers from her hair that he held in his hand for her. He grinned at her looking at her beautiful eyes.

Then Mizuki saw something. Something bright on the reflection of the water.

Mizuki: All those days watching from the windows,

Her deep violet eyes widened and looked up at the castle.

Mizuki: All those years, outside looking in,

Indeed there was a lantern up in the sky.

She gasped and jumped out of her seat and caused the boat to rock back and forth so Donnie fell back, dropping the flowers in his hands. She held onto the side of the boat, looking up at the sky.

Mizuki: All that time, never even knowing just how blind I’ve been. 

She smiled as she saw the rest of the lanterns beginning to go up into the sky slowly.

Mizuki: Now I’m here, blinking in the starlight, now I’m here suddenly I see,

She gasped and saw lanterns from boats being let go into the sky.

Mizuki: Standing here, it’s all so clear, I’m where I meant to be

Mizuki looked around her, lanterns everywhere in the sky.

Mizuki: And at last I see the light, and it’s like the fog has lifted.

More lanterns were being let go from the boats and the Kingdom and village. It was so beautiful and so bright.

Mizuki: And at last I see the light, and it’s like the sky is new. 

The blue-haired girl stared in awe as she saw the blue night sky being lit up by golden lanterns.

Mizuki: And it’s warm and real and bright,

She tilted her head to the side, leaning it against the boat as she beamed and stared at the lanterns. It was amazing and beautiful. She smiled as the lanterns floated around.

Mizuki: And the world has somehow shifted.

Lanterns were now right above the boat and everywhere around them. They were so close.

Mizuki: All at once, everything looks different,

Mizuki remembered something and her smile disappeared. She chewed on her lip, and turned around and looked at Donnie.

Mizuki: Now that I see you. 

Donnie smiled at her as he held two lanterns in his hands.

She chuckled and sat in front of him. “I have something for you, too.” 

She nodded and took out the brown satchel from behind her in the boat.

Donnie looked surprised.

“I should have given it to you before, but I was just scared. And the thing is,” Mizuki shrugged. “I’m not scared anymore. Know what I mean?” 

She grinned and looked up at Donnie with her dark lavender eyes that sparkled in the light.

He smiled back and took the satchel from her and put it aside. “I’m starting to.”

Mizuki beamed widely and blushed.

Donnie gave her the other lantern and they let them go in the air together.

Donnie: All those days, chasing down a daydream,

The lanterns spun around together in the air slowly.

Donnie: All those years, living in a blur, all that time never truly seeing things the way they were. 

Donnie looked up at the lanterns which were still floating around together then looked at Mizuki.

Donnie: Now she’s here, shining in the starlight,

She was looking around at the lanterns, then got his attention and pointed to the King and Queen’s lantern.

Donnie: Now she’s here, suddenly I know,

Mizuki reached out from the boat to touch the lantern and lifted it in the sky as she giggled.

Donnie: If she’s here, it’s crystal clear,

He looked at her and bit his lip as he reached to grab her hand.

Donnie: I’m where I’m meant to go. 

She looked at Donnie and smiled.

“And at last, I see the light,” both Donnie and Mizuki sang. 

They held their hands and each other’s eyes surrounded by lanterns.

“And it’s like the fog has lifted,” Donnie vocalized. 

“And at last, I see the light,” the two both sang once more. 

“And it’s like the sky is new,” Mizuki sang. 

“And it’s warm and real and bright,” they both sang while staring at each other lovingly. 

On top of them was the Kingdom lantern.

“And the world has somehow shifted. All at once, everything is different. Now that I see you…”

They smiled at each other, their cheeks red, and held hands and leaned in a bit closer to each other.

“Now that I…see you”

Donnie pulled back a strand of hair behind Mizuki’s ear and moved his hand behind her neck as their other hands were still intertwined. He slowly pulled her in for a kiss. 

She closed her eyes, ready for the kiss.

Donnie was about to kiss her, but he got distracted by something behind her.

Three figures, which he had seen before, on land behind them, watching them as they held a green lantern.

Donnie looked closer at them, wondering what they were doing.

The three figures disappeared behind a rock.

“Is … everything okay?” Mizuki asked, confused about what happened. 

She noticed Donnie looking behind her at something. She turned around but saw nothing.

“Huh?” Donnie asked and looked back at her. 

Her smile long gone and her face now full of confusion and disappointment.

“Oh, yes!” He quickly said and picked up her hand and held it. 

“Yes, of course,” he chuckled and looked at the satchel next to her. “I just...”

He hesitated for a bit and got an idea.

Minutes later, their boat was now on shore and the lanterns began to disappear. There was only a little bit up in the sky.

Donnie got off the boat and pulled it on shore.

“I’m sorry. Everything is fine,” he assured her, looking at her wide deep violet eyes. 

He picked up the satchel and she started to get scared. 

“There’s just something I have to take care of.”

Mizuki’s smile was nervous. She gulped and looked at Donnie for a second before nodding in reply. 

She was terrified now. More terrified than she was when they were first in front of the castle out on the water. 

He understood the fear, and he didn’t want to scare her any further. 

He smiled back and began to walk backward. “I’ll be right back.” 

Then he turned around and walked away from her. 

Kendra was sitting on a rock, next to a boat on shore as she sharpened a knife.

Donnie finally saw her on the rock. 

“Ah! There you are! I’ve been searching everywhere for you guys since we got separated!” He lied smoothly as he walked closer to her. “Hey, your hair is down, very nice, huh?”

The light-purple-haired girl stopped sharpening her knife and looked up at him with a face that showed no emotion.

Donnie was getting nervous now. He cleared his throat and removed the satchel with the crown from his shoulders. 

“Anyways, I just wanted to say, I shouldn’t have split, the crown is all yours,” he said and threw the satchel to her direction.

Kendra’s face still showed no emotion as she stared at the satchel on the ground next to him then looked up at Donnie.

“I’ll miss ya,” he began to turn around and walk back to Mizuki. “But I think it’s for the—” 

Then he got interrupted because he bumped into Jason and Jeremy, who were behind him and glaring down at him. “best…”

“Holding out on us again, eh, Von Ryan?” Kendra spoke as she sat on the rock and started sharpening her knife again.

“What?” Donnie turned around to look at her with a confused face.

“We heard you found something,” Kendra said then stood up and threw the knife up into the air. 

She caught it and aimed it at the ground and threw it down. “Something much more valuable than a crown.”

She began to stroll towards Donnie and stepped on the crown that was on the floor, but walked past it, her attention no longer focused on the jewelry. 

“We want her instead,” Kendra smirked at Donnie when she was face to face with him.

The young lad looked at her and gasped and his brown eyes widened.

He didn’t have time to react before something hit him on the back of his head and he grunted in pain. Then darkness overtook his vision. 

…..

“Donnie!” Mizuki’s voice cried from afar. 

Donnie shook his head, groaning, when he heard her scared voice. He tried to move his arms, but they were tied to a boat. The crown was in his hands again, only forcefully. 

“Mizuki?” He asked groggily. 

He tried moving his hands as well, though they ended up tied to the boat mast. 

Everything came back to him in an instant. 

“Donnie!” Mizuki cried from the shore again. 

He turned his head around just in time to find the blue-haired girl running towards the shore. 

His eyes then landed on a spider yokai catching up to her and grabbing her in her claws and grew with horror. 

“Mizuki!” He shouted and tried to free himself from the rope. 

The younger girl slammed her fists on the spider’s claws to break free, which didn’t have any effect. 

“Donnie!” Mizuki cried, reaching out to him, before she disappeared unwillingly with the spider mutant. 

“No!” Donnie yelled. 

Footsteps approached the boat he was on fast. He turned around to find multiple guards rushing at him to untie him and take the crown back. 

“No! Stop! Let go!” Donnie fought hard against the guards with no avail. “Mizuki!” 

*****

It was morning now, but Donnie couldn’t sleep at all. 

Locked up in a cell, he paced around, worried. He tried to think of a way out of this. What he could do to save Mizuki.

Then he heard keys jingle and his cell door open.

Two guards stood behind the new captain.

“Let’s get this over with, Von Ryan,” he said.

Donnie wrapped his hand around his neck but glared at them. 

Soon, the two guards held Donnie’s arms so he couldn’t escape as they walked with another soldier in front of them.

He just looked around, trying to find a way out of here. 

Then he saw them. 

He saw the Purple Dragons both locked up in a cell. 

He growled and narrowed his eyes. 

He pushed the guard on his left backward, causing him to fall back and hit his head. Then he hit the guard on his right with his forehead. He jumped in the air and moved his handcuffed hands in front of him and went to grab the closest Purple Dragon.

He gripped Jeremy’s collar shirt through the cell and yelled. “How did you know about her? Tell me, now!”

“I-It wasn’t us! It was the old lady!” Jeremy answered fearfully.

“Old lady?” Donnie asked. 

Then he knew who he was talking about. 

There’s only one person who could be capable of playing as the female antagonist. 

Before he could ask Jeremy more questions, though, the two guards grabbed him and pulled him away again.

“No, wait!” Donnie groaned and tried to break free. 

This time two more guards came for backup. 

“You don’t understand! She’s in trouble! Wait!”

The two guards that Donnie beat up took a break and the two new guards held him tightly so he wouldn’t break loose as they strolled to a door.

As they walked, Donnie noticed something. A stuffed bear?

He was confused and looked forward. 

Suddenly, the door they were about to walk into shut closed and so did the rest of the doors around them.

The soldier in front of the other two and Donnie froze. “What’s this?” 

He banged on the door in front of him. “Open up!”

The small window on the door opened and Mikey asked. “What is the password?” Then shut it immediately.

“What?” The soldier asked in confusion.

“Nope.” Mikey opened the window then closed it when he finished talking.

“Open this door!” The guard yelled.

“Not even close.” Mikey opened it again then closed it once again.

“You have three seconds!” The guard warned. “One…”

As he said the number one, an arm from the ceiling grabbed the guard on Donnie’s right side and pulled him up.

“Huh?” Donnie looked around and so did the guard on his left side.

“Two…” The soldier continued. 

When he said that, another arm grabbed the last guard and pulled him away, leaving Donnie unguarded and the guard’s helmet falling to the ground.

“Three…?” The front soldier turned around and saw that Donnie was alone. “What?”

At that moment, the door behind him opened. Sunita came out with a frying pan and hit him in the head, causing him to pass out and fall to the floor.

“Frying pans! Who knew, right?” Donnie beamed.

Behind him, a door slammed open and guards came flooding out.

“This way!” Sunita cried. 

Donnie did so and followed behind her. 

As the guards ran after them, they suddenly got stopped by April, who was holding a notepad and pen in her hands. Mayhem smirked on her shoulders and grinned innocently at the guards.

“Hey, guys. Sorry that I might have to take your time, but it will be quick, I promise,” she told them. 

The guards stared at her in confusion. 

“Before we start, how about taking a look to the left of you real fast?” 

When the guards did, Buddy ran at them, screaming. 

The guards shrieked and got tackled by Buddy as April winced playfully at the impact on them.

Donnie, Sunita, Mikey, and a couple of others ran and ended up in a large open space where guards began to flood the place. 

But then, Sunita and April placed him beside them on a wagon.

"Head down,” Sunita ordered him.

Donnie obeyed. “Head down.”

“Arms in.”

“Arms in.”

“Knees apart.”

“Knees apart! W-Wait, knees apart?”

“Jumpin’ like a boss!” Raph jumped from the ledge of the building. 

“Why do I need to keep my knees apa—” Donnie got interrupted when he got flung into the air. 

Raph landed on the other side of the wagon where Donnie stood on, causing him to get flung up into the air.

He yelled as he was up in the air. He quickly stopped when he noticed he was alive on another horse alongside Leo and his own. He sighed and Leo smiled at him.

“Leo?” Donnie asked. “You brought them here?”

“Yeah, I did,” Leo responded, proud of himself. 

“Thank you,” Donnie began.

“You’re welcome.”

"N-No, really. Thank you. I feel like this whole time we’ve been misunderstanding each other and we’re just—” Donnie paused when he saw Leo looking at him with a raised eyebrow. 

“Yeah, you’re right! We should go!” Donnie nodded.

Guards came flooding in where Donnie and Leo were, which was on top of the castle. They shot after both of them with their arrows.

As they ran, Leo noticed that up ahead was a dead end and guards were slowly starting to flood that place up more.

“This gives me a reckless idea!” He grabbed Donnie’s horse’s reins before charging his own horse faster. 

“Leo?” Donnie asked.

The two men on their horses kept running towards the dead-end that led down to the bottom of the village and the guards were now flooding that place too.

“Leo?” Donnie asked a bit louder.

Then when they jumped over all the guards, Donnie yelled as they were in the air again.

“Leo! Ah!” He shouted and gripped onto his horse tightly so he wouldn’t fall. 

They finally were back on the ground, running and galloping as fast as they could. They were in the middle of the village with people everywhere. They moved aside and exclaimed.

“Okay, Leo. Let’s see how fast we can run!” Donnie said with determination. 

At that moment, they ran as fast as they could, through the bridge, through the forest.

When they finally arrived at the tower, Donnie got off of his horse and ran to the tower, with Leo staying behind.

“Mizuki? Mizuki, let down your hair!” Donnie yelled up at the window tower. 

At first, he got no response. He rushed towards the walls of the tower and began to climb with his bare hands. 

But suddenly, he heard the window open and Mizuki’s long hair got thrown down the tower.

Donnie smiled and began to climb the hair up the tower.

“Mizuki,” Donnie said as he clambered inside the tower. “I thought I’d never see you again.” 

He looked up with a smile but it disappeared quickly when he saw Mizuki.

Her mouth was covered by a white towel and her arms were tied behind her back with chains. The chain was tied tightly around a large piece of furniture. 

“Donnie! Behind you!” Mizuki gave out muffled screams through the gag, trying to warn Donnie.

“Huh?” 

Donnie then felt a sharp pang in his stomach. 

He fell to the ground in agony when someone pulled the knife out of his stomach and glared at him on the floor.

Mizuki tried screaming and tried to break free to go to Donnie, but she couldn’t.

“Now, look what you’ve done, Mizuki,” a female voice, one he recognized too well, said. “Oh, don’t worry. Our secret will die with him.”

Big Mama smirked evilly and walked over Donnie and to her.

He gripped his stomach and groaned in pain. He glanced up from his wound and got a better look at the vain woman. 

She was clad in a dark purple dress and a black cloak, but her light gray hair was still up in a bun. 

Mizuki struggled to break free, but when Big Mama untied the chain from the furniture. It was harder to restrain her but she didn’t let go. 

“And as for us, we are going where no one will ever find you again!”

Mizuki muffled even more yells and fought back against the older woman’s grip on the chains.

“Mizuki, really!” Big Mama pulled on the chain, trying to pull her down to the basement. “Enough already! Stop fighting me!”

“No!” Mizuki yelled and fell back, the gag now off of her mouth so she could talk clearly. 

She panted, her bangs in her eyes. “I won’t stop, for every minute of the rest of my life I will fight!”

Big Mama glared at her but held tightly onto the chain.

“I will never stop trying to get away from you!” She panted and glowered at her. “But…if you let me save him, I will go with you.”

Big Mama didn’t speak.

“No,” Donnie groaned from the other side of the room, near the window where he laid, holding onto his stomach in pain as blood spilled out. “No, Mizuki!”

“I’ll never run, I’ll never try to escape, just let me heal him and you and I will be together, forever!” Mizuki offered, actually meaning every word she said. “Just like you want, everything will be the way it was, I promise…Just like you want.”

Donnie stared up at her with devastation and worry in his eyes. She’s really going to do this, to keep him alive and safe? 

She couldn’t, not after what that woman had done to her a time ago…

“Just let me heal him,” Mizuki enunciated as she stared at Big Mama. 

The older woman hesitated and glared at her.

A few minutes later, Big Mama had Donnie tied up onto a piece of furniture with the chain he used on Mizuki. 

She chained the handcuffs on them and tied it to the heavy furniture. “In case you get any ideas of following us.”

Donnie was still gripping onto his stomach. He was coughing and groaning in pain as he held his wound, blood spilling out and now on his hands and the floor.

“Donnie!” Mizuki ran to him as soon as Big Mama walked away from them but only to stand nearby them.

“Oh, Donnie!” The younger girl yelled, removing Donnie’s hair out of his face and checked to see if he had any other injuries.

“Let me see.” 

As Donnie groaned and coughed, Mizuki removed his hand from his wound to see his hand bloody and his blue vest and white shirt also drowning in his blood. 

“Oh, no! Everything is gonna be okay,” She cried as she began to grab her own hair.

“No, Mizuki,” Donnie grunted.

“I promise, you have to trust me, just breathe,” Mizuki told him before grabbing her hair and began to put it on his wound.

Donnie pulled it away from him before she could even do so.

“No,” he groaned. “I can’t let you do this.”

“And I can’t let you die,” Mizuki whispered and began to feel tears coming.

“But if you do this, then you…will die,” He coughed and grunted.

“Hey, hey, hey. Shhh,” She cooed him and cupped his cheek. “It’s gonna be okay.”

He looked into her violet eyes and groaned. Mizuki had her hair on his wound and was about to sing.

“Mizuki,” Donnie sighed and put his hand to her cheek, making it a bit bloody but she didn’t care. “Wait…”

Mizuki stopped and looked at him. He began to slowly pull her hair back and leaned closer to her. She smiled softly and she thought he was going to kiss her as before.

However, he had picked up one of the broken shards from the mirror and pulled back her hair before slicing it off. As soon as he did, though, hid hand fell back to the ground and the shard slipped off. 

“Donnie?” Mizuki gasped. 

She touched the uneven end of her locks as they changed from bright blue back to their original black color. 

“No!” Big Mama yelled terrified. 

As Mizuki picked up the remains of her hair, they changed slowly to the dark gray value.

Big Mama quickly scooped up the hair that didn’t turn for a moment, trying to remain as young as she could. “No, no, no!” 

When she looked at her hand, they changed to wrinkly and pale at the damaged hair’s touch. “What have you done?! What have you done?!” 

Her face instantly changed to wrinkly and pale like her hands, her hair no longer white purple, but now old white. She discarded the cut hair and found herself as an old woman again while staring with the broken mirror. 

“No, no, no!” She cried in pain and pulled down her cloak in front of her face. 

Walking backward, she failed to notice that she was heading towards the open window until she tripped over the railing and fell back. 

Mizuki gasped and reached out to her. 

Big Mama screamed as she plummeted towards the ground. The sun from the sky shone on her while she fell. When she finally hit the ground, the cloak was all that was left of her. 

Mizuki panted heavily as she took in what had just happened. She quickly realized and found Donnie, who was on the floor and barely breathing. 

“No, no, no, no, no!” She panicked and cupped his cheeks and cradled him. “Donnie?”

Donnie coughed and opened his eyes slowly then quickly shut them again.

“No, look at me! Look at me, I’m right here, don’t go!” Mizuki cried and moved his hair out of the way. “Stay with me, Donnie!”

She picked up his bloody hand and made him touch her hair. 

“Flower, gleam and glow,” she began to sing as her voice cracked.

“Mizzy, hey,” Donnie whispered in a raspy low voice.

“Let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine,” she cried as tears threaten to spill.

“Mizuki,” He whispered again.

“What?” She asked, her voice cracking, still holding his hand to her head.

“You were my new dream,” Donnie whispered.

Mizuki sobbed and she moved his hand out of her hair to hold it. “And you were mine.”

He gave a small smile, but then it quickly disappeared and he left her alone in the tower. 

Mizuki tried not to scream and cry as she cradled him in her arms. 

But it was really hard. It started to become impossible to hold back her cries of devastation. 

She moved her hands to cup Donnie’s cheeks.

“Heal what has been hurt,” she began to sing quietly as she held him in her arms. “Change the Fate’s design, save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine.”

She moved one of her hands to his stomach as tears built up again.

“What once…was mine.” Her voice cracked. 

She moved her forehead to touch his brow and shut her eyes as a single tear fell onto his cheek. 

She sobbed quietly now and mourned for the one loss of the boy she loves. 

The single tear on Donnie’s cheek got absorbed into his skin. As it faded, a faint blue glow from his cheek appeared before disappearing and trailed down to his wound. 

His bloody wound started to glow, and a blue glow grew from the wound and went upwards and started to surround his body, the whole room including Mizuki. 

The azure glow had a heart around her and glowing lines and sparkles surround them both and grew up from his wound. 

She gasped in awe but was confused about what was happening. 

When it slowly started to disappear, the last thing Meechee saw was an indigo shape of a flower on his wound. The glow disappeared completely seconds after it happened.

Mizuki examined Donnie’s wound and saw nothing. She saw it was healed, not one trace of blood, not even on her own cheeks or his hands. She moved her new ebony-black bangs out of her eyes and looked at him.

He slowly started opening his eyes to look at her. “Mizuki?”

She gasped. “Donnie?”

Donnie smiled slightly and whispered in a raspy voice. “Did I ever tell you I got a thing for ebonies?”

She laughed and gasped. “Donnie!”

She tackled him with a hug and he sat up, hugging her back tightly. She pulled back and smiled widely. Donnie beamed back at her as he looked into her violet eyes. Mizuki laughed again and pulled him into a kiss. He blushed, surprised, but kissed her back quickly and ran his fingers through her new deep black hair.

The sun was now shining through the window of the tower, hitting them.

Donnie only had his eyes closed, but he knew it was like a dream come true for him. 

*****

He yelped when he turned over on the couch and hit the floor. The other three brothers and April laughed as he sat up in a flash and scanned the room, holding a pillow in his hands. 

He wasn’t in the tower anymore. The long sliced hair wasn’t lying on the floor where it was left. He was back in his girlfriend’s apartment, right where he is right now.

Donnie glanced at his hands, which had three fingers instead of five, and he saw a mirror and found his normal, turtle-like face rather than a human version of himself. 

“Wh-wh-wh-what just happened?” He stammered. 

“You were kissing the pillow and mumbling about how beautiful Mizuki is with short hair!” Mikey cackled, holding onto his sides. 

Donnie glanced at the pillow he had in his grasps and blushed hard. He threw the pillow to the side and chuckled nervously. 

“Must be a force of habit,” he lied while turning away to prevent the others from seeing his red face. 

“Oh, really?” A familiar voice asked mischievously. 

When he spun back around, he was instantly met with a soft pair of lips, which connected with his mouth, causing his cheeks to turn even more red as a tomato. 

The others laughed even louder at the occurrence happening in front of them. 

Mizuki pulled away from him and smirked at his flustered state. 

Donnie could see that she didn’t have her ebony black short hair, which was back to deep blue and long to her waist, anymore nor is she wearing the red and black dress that was replaced by her signature armor. 

Still, he blushed at the sight of her flirty smirk. 

“Did my dashing thief fall asleep before the movie ended?” She asked him. 

“Uh, I thought you’re still beautiful with short hair,” Donnie said in a slur-like tone, his cheeks still tomato red, and a dopey smile plastered on his face. 

“Hah, I knew it!” Mikey exclaimed. 

Donnie shook off his blushing and covered his mouth in shock. “Did I just say that?!” 

Mizuki giggled, sitting in front of him on her knees. “I love it when you’re a dork.” 

Donnie smiled before he was suddenly pulled in by his plastron gently and his lips connected with hers again. He gasped surprised, but then kissed her back affectionately. 

“Aw!” Mikey gushed. 

Raph was smiling at the two, April nodded her head in approval, and Leo gagged in disgust playfully. 

Oh, yeah, definitely a dream come true, Donnie thought…


	51. Cloak and Swaggart

“Camping! Camping! Camping! Camping! Camping!” The turtles excitedly chanted while holding items they need for their weekend trip. 

They marched towards the Turtle Tank as April, Sunita and Mizuki watched them while leaning against the tank armor. 

“Boys, we leave for intense survival training in exactly one minute!” Splinter, clad in an army uniform, popped out through the driver’s window and declared. 

“Survival training?” Mikey asked discontent. “I thought we’re going camping.” 

Splinter blinked before he went on. “It’s just like camping, only you learn which bugs are the yummiest and how to drink your own sweat.” 

He headed back into the Tank, and the turtles groaned, having learned about their camping trip being ruined. 

Mizuki couldn’t help but feel bad for them internally. They’ve been looking forward to the weekend for at least a month now. 

“Thanks, April, Sunita, and Miz, for holding down the fort while we’re gone for what I thought was going to be a fun weekend,” Leo groaned in despair and trailed behind the others. 

“Don’t forget to change Shelldon’s coolant thrice daily. That means three times,” Donnie instructed the girls, with Shelldon hovering beside him, while he typed on his arm computer. 

“And give him a little skritch behind the ears. Ears can be found here, here, here, and here,” Donnie then pointed at Shelldon’s place. 

“Don’t worry,” Sunita reassured. “We got you covered.” 

“And Mizuki, are you positive you can handle yourself here?” Donnie then asked his girlfriend. 

“Don’t worry about me, Donnie,” the blue-haired girl reassured him. “I’ve been on my own a few times before I met you guys.” 

She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled a little, his cheeks turning light red. 

She beamed back, happy to see him in a semi-happy state. 

“Now go and have some fun with the guys,” she encouraged him. “We’ll make sure everything’s in order.” 

“Boys, in the Tank!” Splinter ordered as the turtles stepped inside the Tank solemnly. “Let’s go, let’s go, move it, move it!” 

As soon as the Tank doors closed, April and Sunita high-fived one another and smirked. 

“Girls’ night!” They both yelled, walking out of the garage. 

Mizuki rolled her eyes playfully at them and followed them to the living room. 

*****

“Sauce that hog! Sauce that hog!” The people in the barbecue channel chanted repeatedly as a man with a bandana on his head poured sauce over the cooked meat. 

“Seriously, the Barbecue channel?” April asked bored. “This is not what I had in mind for girls night.” 

She was sitting in the armchair, with Mizuki sitting on the floor beside her. Sunita was sitting criss-cross in front of them. 

“April, shh! They’re about to sauce the pig!” She shushed the puffy-haired girl and turned back to the TV. 

As she chanted the words with the people on the screen, Mizuki read some messages from Hallie and answered back. 

“Was that Hallie?” April asked her. 

“Yeah, she’s asking about Leo,” Mizuki replied. “They’ve been, probably texting each other for what seems like weeks now.” 

“Ah,” April nodded before lighting up when she saw something on her phone. “Yes!” 

She stepped beside Sunita and showed her the screen of her phone. “DIGG’s doing a secret concert downtown. We are going!” 

“I’m up for it,” Mizuki replied. 

“You guys don’t wanna see this?” Sunita asked them. “It took these mountain men six months to craft that sauce.” 

“You need more than barbecue TV in your life, girl,” April reasoned while nudging her in the arm. “Grab your cloaking brooch and let’s go!” 

Sunita smiled and pressed the brooch on her side, which changed her to her human form. 

“Let us rock and roll!” She cheered. 

*****

As the DIGG band played their top song, the crowd cheered wildly. 

April, Sunita, and Mizuki whooped with joy as they are carried by the crowd. 

“Whoo! I’m floating on a sea of fingers!” Sunita yelled happily. 

Mizuki, clad in her school outfit, giggled and flipped to the sides and back up. 

A green glow appeared out of the corner of her eyes, and she gasped with fright upon seeing Sunita in her yokai form. 

“Oh, my God!” She screamed. 

“Sunita! Your cloaking brooch!” April yelled and pulled off her jacket to cover her with it. 

They both grabbed Sunita and ran out of the concert as fast as they could before anyone else would notice. 

*****

“My cloaking brooch!” Sunita wailed in despair. “That was a gift from my Grand-Googly.” 

The three girls hid behind a building, as the googly yokai hid herself with April’s jacket. 

“We gotta hunt down the jerk who stole it,” April said. 

“Well, how are we going to do that, April?” Mizuki asked. “The guys and Splinter are already out in the woods.” 

“We don’t need ‘em!” April decided. “I know New York better than anybody! If anyone can get your brooch back, it’s me, April O’Neil!” 

“Well, I’m in,” Mizuki added. 

*****

April drove her bike, with Mizuki riding behind her and Sunita hiding in the bike basket. 

“Rumor has it,” April explained. “Any brooch stolen in the tri-state area…”

“Eventually ends up going through here,” she stopped her bye in front of an alleyway and gestured to the various stalls. 

“Whoa. The Brooch District,” Sunita gasped in amazement. 

“With any luck, someone who works here will know about Sunita’s cloaking brooch,” Mizuki said. 

The three both came across a man with a clean-shaved head and glasses who is counting some dollar bills. 

“Let me do the talking,” Mizuki said to April and Sunita. 

She breathed deeply and approached his booth. 

“Hey, brooch man,” she said in a calm, yet demanding. “I’m looking for a special brooch. Hopefully, one that someone had sold to you depending on its uniqueness?” 

“Look, kid. My clients expect a certain level of discretion,” the brooch man said to her. “You think I’m just gonna tell you the brooch was bought by some big guy with a thick neck and an upturned nose, in a paper hat on his way to Channel 6 in a late model charcoal gray stretch limo?” 

“Oh, no, no, no, no,” he shook his head. “You ain’t gettin’ nothin’ from ol’ Loose Lips Malinowski here. Schmoo, schmoo.” 

Mizuki only smirked at him, her arms crossed over her chest. 

She’d recognized that description of that buyer anywhere…

Some time later, the three girls drove out of the Brooch District, with determined smiles on their faces. 

“See, what’d I tell you?” April told her friend. “April and Mizuki’s got your back. And we didn’t need to bother the boys on their serious training mission.” 

“Alright,” Mizuki narrowed her eyes and smiled. “Let’s go find our brooch stealer.” 

*****

The three girls soon arrived at the place where they heard the brooch buyer say their target would be. 

“You can do this, Sunita,” Mizuki encouraged the googly yokai. 

“Do your thing, Googly-girl,” April added. 

Sunita nodded before she pounced out of the bike basket. 

“Party!” She yelled and exploded in a gooey gunk. 

She landed on the guard’s window, scaring him enough for him to pass out on his chair. She then snuck through the gate bars and pressed a button on the control panel, letting the gates open. 

April and Mizuki beamed at her with pride. 

They later got into the building where their target is and occasionally hid behind a few boxes here and there.

“Maybe it’s not worth it,” Sunita confessed. 

“What do you mean?” Mizuki asked her. 

“I mean, I want my brooch, but I can’t risk being seen in my Googly-form,” Sunita said. 

“Come on. Would April O’Neil get her good friend Sunita into a pickle?” April patted her on the head. “Answer at eleven.” 

The green screen that they are unintentionally standing in front of went on, and April and Sunita both froze in terror. Mizuki, who was able to stay out of the way, gasped in fright. 

“Who are you?” The news manager asked. 

“Oh, I’m the, uh...new weather person, April O...Nimbus?” April replied nervously. 

The news manager stared at her incredulously. Mizuki motioned for April to keep going as she stood outside the green screen. 

“We’ve got some sunny skies inland, but uh-oh, looks like some rain clouds coming in on the coast a pair of...” April stopped when Sunita’s eyes popped open on the green screen. “Eyeballs hovering over New Jersey. Better wear your...rain goggles!” 

She gently shoved Sunita away before continuing. “For Channel Six weather, this is April O...Nimbus! Signing off.” 

The news manager stared at her intensely until she slid up next to her with a smile. “I like your stuff, kid. Tell Mel Niño he’s fired.” 

A door suddenly burst open, and a cameraman rushed in in a panic. 

“We’ve to an emergency at the hit cooking show Kondescending Kitchen!” He exclaimed, waving his arms around. “Our abusive host Guy Flambé is missing! And some even meaner guy is trying to take his place!” 

“What?” The news manager gasped. 

“I said...” the cameraman inhaled. 

“Okay, okay! Let’s go!” The manager, along with the TV crew, rushed out for the set of Kondescending Kitchen. 

April, Sunita and Mizuki both ran after them until they stopped near a TV screen. They saw Sunita’s brooch being worn by a vaguely familiar man with a smug grin. 

“My brooch!” Sunita gasped. 

The three girls nodded at one another and started for the Kondescending Kitchen set. 

“Where’s Flambé?!” The news manager demanded. 

“He’s a bit tied up at the moment,” a rough, male voice replied and closed the cabinet doors where the new host was trapped in. “I meant that literally.” 

When he stepped out into the light, the audience gasped. 

April and Mizuki peeked behind the curtain and their eyes widened with terror when they recognized the man. 

“This is bad,” April whispered. 

“What?” Sunita asked. 

“Meat Sweats,” Mizuki explained to her. “One of the dangerous mutants the turtles, April and I had come across. And I think I know why he’s using your brooch. He’s disguising himself to take back his show!” 

“That’s right, dears. Rupert Swaggart has returned as your beloved, reviled host of Kondescending Kitchen!” Meat Sweats declared. “Applaud me!” 

The news manager and the audience only stared at him confused. 

“But what about that freak accident that made you look—monstrously piggish?” The manager asked him. 

“Hollywood magic,” Meat Sweats answered, shrugging his shoulders. “The details of my demise were greatly exaggerated. Look at me boat race. All sorts of handsome is me.” 

The audience then cheered and clapped wildly. 

“Now that I’m back behind the counter,’ Meat Sweats slid up behind a counter. “What time is it, friends? It’s time to...” 

“Unleash the flavor!” Both he and the crowd yelled. 

“I don’t know about this, guys,” Sunita hesitated. “Maybe we should just leave?” 

“We’re not leaving without your brooch, Sunita,” Mizuki told her with determination. “That guy stole it from you, we’re gonna steal it back!” 

“You’re right, Miz,” April added. “We’re not leaving you exposed like this, Sunita. I promised we’d get your Grand-Googly’s brooch back, and we will.” 

“Contestants, bring your entrees to me, and I shall tell you exactly how much they offend my classically trained palate,” Meat Sweats said from the set. 

April and Mizuki both turned from the set and smirked when they saw a chef’s outfit hanging from a clothes rack. 

“April?” Mizuki smirked at the puffy-haired girl. 

“Oh, yeah,” April replied. 

She grabbed a hot sauce bottle and the chef’s outfit from the clothes rack. Whipping them on, April dashed out to the set and confronted Meat Sweats with a dish she had swiped in a flash. 

“You’re gonna love this, Sunita,” Mizuki whispered to the Googly yokai. 

The two watched Meat Sweats take a small bite from the dish before he instantly ran around the TV set, while April stood there with a mischievous smirk and her hands on her hips. 

Mizuki and Sunita both nearly lost the urge to laugh. 

“What is this wretched flavor?” Meat Sweats growled. 

“Oh, it’s just an old family recipe called…too much hot sauce!” April replied and held up the bottle of hot sauces she used. 

Meat Sweats groaned in agony and slammed his fists on the table. “My pristine palate!” 

As he grabbed a cup of water to soothe his burning tongue, April managed to grab the brooch from his shirt and quickly ran back to the others. 

“I got it! Let’s go!” She said. 

They heard Meat Sweats groan from the set and ran out through the exit door. 

By the time they made it out to the hallways, Meat Sweats, now back in his mutant form, started chasing after them. 

“This way!” Mizuki yelled as she, April and Sunita both ran into another room with Meat Sweats behind them. 

The pig mutant slammed his meat tenderizer on the ground, barely missing the girls. 

They both yelled and skidded across the floor before hiding behind a table. 

“I’m so sorry, Sunita,” April said to the Googly yokai. “None of this would’ve happened if I hadn’t grabbed you out. I’m the worst.” 

“No, April,” Mizuki reassured her, placing her hand on her shoulder. “We didn’t know how this would turn out tonight.” 

“Yeah, Mizzy’s right,” Sunita piped in. “You’re amazing.” 

“Sure, you convinced me to go to that concert where I got robbed, and then you took us to that seedy part of town and then came here and unleashed a seven-foot pig mutant who wants to filet us, but this has been one of the most exciting nights of my life!” She then laughed with joy. 

Meat Sweats found them behind the desk and slammed his hammer near the girls again. They screamed and fell behind a table of food. 

They looked at one another and smirked. 

“Bite-sized bash!” 

They began throwing food at Meat Sweats, who grunted and tried to shield himself. 

Sunita loaded her arm with the bite-sized dishes and fired them at him like a cannon. 

“This is way more fun than that barbecue show!” Sunita laughed and clapped her hands. 

“Barbecue show?” She gasped and her eyes lit up when she had an idea. “That’s it! We just need to get past this pig!” 

Sunita formed herself back together, and April grabbed a food tray before she and Mizuki hopped on and surfed on Sunita, who soared in the air. 

“April…O’Neil!” April yelled and slammed the food tray right on Meat Sweats’s face. 

When he landed on the ground, the three girls ran for their lives. 

They rushed past the various TV sets, with Meat Sweats not too far behind them. 

Eventually, they stopped at where they needed the mutant villain to be. April handed Sunita back her brooch, and the yokai formed back to her human disguise. 

“End of the line, lassies!” Meat Sweats growled, stalking towards them. “Enough’s enough.” 

“Oh, really?” Mizuki smirked. 

She sniffed the air, as well as April. 

“Do you smell that, Sunita?” The African-American girl asked. 

Sunita inhaled the air, too, and beamed. “I sure do.” 

The three girls rammed through the doors, but April and Mizuki hadn’t gone far with Sunita when Meat Sweats grabbed them and lifted them in the air. He glanced down at Sunita and the brooch and smiled darkly.

“I want that cloaking brooch,” he said, still grinning sinisterly. “And I will not be stopped.” 

The lights suddenly turned on, and he dropped April and Mizuki as the contestants of the barbecue laughed and gazed at him hungrily. 

“Mmm, look at this little piggy wiggy,” an old woman rubbed her hands together. 

“That’s some prime swine!” The man with the bandana remarked. “Get me my slicing blades!” 

The three girls ran away in time before the people and contestants surrounded Meat Sweats, leaving him with no escape. 

April, Sunita, and Mizuki high-fived each other as they made their way to the exit. 

“Best girls night ever!” 

*****

By the time they made it down to the lair’s garage, the turtles and Splinter, who is wearing his underwear, were weeping with joy and relief and kissing the ground. 

“Back already? How was your trip?” April asked them. 

“Oh, you have missed so much of it! You have no idea what a fun night we’ve had together,” Mizuki added. 

“Hey, what’s this brand-new giant button do?” April saw a button near the garage door. 

“No, no, no, no, no!” The turtles and Splinter yelled. 

April pressed it too late for them, and a door instantly slammed the guys in. An alarm beeped a few times, as Mizuki stared at the door with wide eyes. 

“24 hour garage lockdown activated,” a Donnie-toned voice said. 

April, Sunita, and Mizuki both looked at each other and grinned. 

They high-fived one another and wrapped their arms over their shoulders. “Girls night two!"


	52. Jupiter Jim Ahoy

The screen changes to Lou Jitsu running down the street. 

He stops in his tracks as the main villain laughs menacingly. 

“Lou Jistu, you are finished!” The villain tells the hero as his minions surround him. “For we are fifty, and you are just one!” 

“Ah, that’s what you think,” Lou Jitsu smirks. “For Master Greenberg, before he was eaten by a horse, taught me…the 50 Man Punch!” 

The villain and his minions gasp. 

Lou Jitsu charges at the villains, ready to throw a punch. “Hot…Soo—“

Splinter paused the movie and stepped in front of the screen. “Oh, oh, a fun trivia fact about this scene—“ 

The turtles and Mizuki both blinked at him before they yelled in despair and annoyance. 

“No!” 

“Are you out of your mind, Splinter?!” 

“What are you doing? Play the punch!” Mikey said. 

“Punch! Punch! Punch!” Raph, Leo, and Donnie both chanted. 

Mizuki only glared at Splinter in disapproval. 

“I thought you’d enjoy some inside tidbit info from your movie hero…me,” Splinter smirked. 

The turtles and Mizuki both blinked again before the boys chanted again. “Punch, punch, punch!” 

“Whoever said never met your idols never met me,” Splinter only said. “Am I right, kids? I can still remember every stuntman’s name.” 

“Ryker, Chad, Wilder, the Brian twins, Kris with a K, Josh…” he then counted down the names of the stuntmen. 

“Is it just me, or was Lou Jitsu a lot cooler before he was our dad?” Leo whispered to Raph and Mizuki.

The remote was thrown at the red-eared slider’s head, which knocked him down to the floor. Raph winced and Mizuki gasped. 

Donnie gasped as he slid up next to the two. “Good Galileo!” 

“Honey, what is it?” Mizuki asked. 

“The original Jupiter Jim is gonna be at Galaxy Con!” He showed her his phone, which revealed a movie poster of Jupiter Jim, and the words ‘Galaxy Con’ above. 

“Marques Moncrief?!” Leo exclaimed. “He’s my all-time favorite actor/role model/father figure!” 

“I am standing right here,” Splinter remarked jealously. “And really? Marques Moncrief? That guy couldn’t hold my lobster bib!” 

“Hey, we should get him to sign our special edition Jupiter Jim 1,000!” Raph suggested. 

“To the comic book safe!” Donnie declared. 

He took Mizuki by the hand and led her and his brothers to the comic book safe. She mouthed ‘Sorry’ to Splinter before she disappeared with the boys. 

At the safe, Donnie gave his hand signature, eye I.D., and password. 

“Begin voice match I.D.,” a Donnie-like voice said. 

“We don’t have time for this!” Mikey yelled before Donnie could say the password. 

“Voice not recognized.” 

A glass cage trapped Mikey. 

“Bootyyyshak3r9000,” Donnie chuckled. 

“Access granted.” 

The safe door opened, and the three turtles and Mizuki gasped in amazement. 

A comic book, the special edition Jupiter Jim 1,000, sat in a glass-like case.

“It’s beautiful,” Mikey said, choked up. 

*****

At the Galaxy Con, the turtles and Mizuki, who are now dressed up in their disguises from the mascot battle, scanned the space-themed places. 

“Galaxy Con! The one place we fit right in,” Mikey said. 

The teens then walked around the place. Donnie saw a few guys dressed in spacesuits making flirty gestures at Mizuki, one of them buffing up his muscles. 

The soft-shell turtle glared at them and pulled her close while mouthing “Mine” to them. 

“Now, if the masses puncture the mylar, save the comic—leave me behind,” Donnie instructed the boys and Mizuki as he carried the comic. “But build statues to my sacrifice.” 

“No way will I ever leave you, Donnie,” Mizuki, whose arm is around Donnie’s, protested softly. “I’m your Princess of the Azureans, therefore I’d send a powerful army of brave soldiers with me to protect you.” 

“Aw, you’re too sweet, malady,” Donnie smiled at her.

“Guys, guys, guys, guys, guys, guys,” Leo quickly said, stopping and prompting Donnie and Mizuki to stop in the tracks, and grabbed Donnie by the face. 

In a room in front of them, a man in a Hawaiian shirt and pants sat a desk with a few piles of papers beside him. A poster of “Jupiter Jim in Planet Reptilia’ hung behind the main star of the franchise. No one else seemed to be in the room at the moment. 

“It’s him,” Leo gasped, his eyes shining with stars. 

“You guys ready?” Mizuki asked the guys. 

She giggled at their giddy nods, and they both headed to the Jupiter Jim booth. 

“Uh, Mr. Moncrief?” Raph spoke up. 

“Oh-ho-ho,” Moncrief chuckled and stood up when he saw the teens. “Looks like a young damsel is in danger.” 

He stood up on the desk and dramatically gestured to the turtles. “Last warning, turtle alien scum! Unhand the young maiden!” 

“He’s doing the movie!” Leo yelled with excitement. 

“Prepare to be blasted, human!” He then said in an alien accent, making a finger gun and pointing at him. 

“Jupiter Jim’s prime directive is to maintain interplanetary peace,” Moncrief said. “And if you pose a threat to that I say...” 

“‘Jupiter Jim ahoy!’” He shouted. 

Mizuki watched the turtles and Moncrief have an imaginary laser battle, until the boys fell to the ground, pretending to be dead. 

“Jupiter Jim fake blastered me!” Mikey said. “I can die now.” 

He whipped up his phone and took a selfie. 

Donnie winked at Mizuki and silently encouraged her to play along. 

She giggled, covering her mouth, before she stood upright and faced Moncrief, changing her voice to a British-Scottish accent. “As the Princess of the Azureans, I thank you for bringing peace to my home.” 

Leo got up from the ground and walked up to Moncrief. “Excuse me, um, Mr. Jampeter Jupe...” 

He chuckled before stammering nervously. “I mean, Jampiter June...Ah, I mean, fans...we is.” 

“What my friend is trying to say is, Mr. Moncrief,” Mizuki stepped in beside him, her voice now normal. “He and his brothers are your biggest fans.” 

“We are so happy to meet you, ohh,” Donnie added. 

“But not happy to eat you, as they said in ‘Jupiter Jim and Shark People of Planet Shark’,” Leo finished. 

“Impressive,” Moncrief remarked, folding his arms across his chest. “Say, how’d you Reptilians and Azurean Princess like to see the harpoon ray I dispatched those Shark People with, hmm? I have it at my headquarters.” 

Leo gasped as Raph and Mizuki stared at him perplexed. 

“Uh, like come to your house?” Raph asked. 

“Raph, when the single greatest actor in the history of low budget sci-fi invites you to his headquarters, you say yes,” Leo told him, wrapping his arm around his shoulders. 

“Yes!” He replied to Moncrief. 

“Okay, then,” Moncrief beamed. “Shall we? Jupiter Jim...” 

“Ahoy!” He and the teens shouted. 

*****

A while later, the turtles, Moncrief and Mizuki arrived at his apartment. 

“Welcome to my humble adobe,” Moncrief opened the door and showed them the familiar interior.

“The S.S. Starbolt!” The turtles exclaimed. 

Mikey took a helmet off the hat rack and gasped. “Wow...”

Raph laughed as he examined a room in the apartment. 

“Oh, this place is so mint, I wish I could wrap it up in a mylar sleeve,” Donnie said as he studied the computers. 

Leo and Mizuki saw the outside environment of the Starbolt and inhaled in awe. 

“Oh, it’s beautiful,” Leo said. “The only thing Splinter ever showed us was Lou Jitsu’s old chest wigs.” 

“Yeah, those were lame. And itchy,” Mikey agreed. 

“Whoa, the Captain’s Chair!” Donnie yelled and pointed at the chair which back is facing them, in the center. 

Moncrief turned around in the Captain’s chair, now clad in his main movie outfit. “Welcome aboard the Starbolt.” 

“Wait a minute, did he just change into a Jupiter Jim costume?” Raph asked. 

Mizuki raised a questioning eyebrow and examined the movie star. Leo, Donnie, and Mikey were too busy to notice the strange occurrence as they gazed at him in a fanboy manner. 

“He’s giving us the ultimate fan experience,” Leo said to Raph and Mizuki. 

“And this ultimate fan is loving every second of it!” He turned back to Moncrief with stars in his eyes. 

“You rock, Mr. Moncrief,” Mikey said. 

“Call me Jupiter Jim,” Moncrief corrected. 

He pressed a button on the chair panel. “Now, how about that harpoon ray?” 

The cabinet doors opened up to reveal a selection of the weapons Mizuki could tell are from the various movies. 

“Solar Sabers, Stidgian Thumb cuffs, Deltaroid torture sticks! Oh-ho-ho!” Donnie cried in excitement. 

“Gentlemen and Mizzy, if you need me, I will be living inside this cabinet,” he went to jump in, but Raph and Mizuki caught him in time.

“Donnie, please...” she told her boyfriend calmly. 

Moncrief picked up a laser gun from the cabinet. “Here she is. Who wants a go?” 

“Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me!” Leo took the laser gun and pointed it at somewhere. 

He accidentally pulled the trigger, and a little laser beam shot out. 

“Watch out!” Mizuki yelled. 

Mikey yelped and ducked down, the laser blast barely hitting the top of the helmet. 

Raph, Leo, Donnie, and Mizuki both stared at the flaming helmet top in shock. 

“Whoa, um, Mr. Jim, wasn’t that laser a little, um, real?” Raph asked uncertainly. 

“Mikey, are you hurt?” Mizuki rushed to Mikey and checked over him for any injuries. 

“I was almost incinerated!” He only responded. “Cool...” 

He whipped out his phone and took another selfie. 

“Sorry. I’m not worthy to handle your surprisingly real space laser,” Leo said. 

“I’ll say,” Moncrief took the gun from him while glowering at him. “I should never have given such a weapon to the scourge of the galaxy!” 

He sighed deeply and spoke to himself. “Keep it together, Jim. Another misstep like that, and you’re toast!” 

Raph and Mizuki blinked at him confused. Moncrief was surprisingly acting like the character he played in the franchise...

“Well, uh, thank you so much for the tour, Mr. Jim,” Mizuki respectfully said. “But we really need to be going.” 

“No, I’m not going back to what’s-his-rat,” Leo refused. “I want to see his, um, his...” 

“Hall of Victories!” Mikey interjected. 

“Yeah,” Moncrief stood beside the door leading to the Hall of Victories. “Can’t leave without seeing this, fellas.” 

The doors opened and Mikey jumped through them while laughing. 

“That, yes!” Leo smiled. “Splinter’s only got a Hall of Dirty Robes.” 

“You guys go ahead,” Donnie sat on the floor and pulled out a contraption for the comic book. “I’ll initiate the comic signing protocol.” 

“Yeah, I’ll, uh, supervise,” Raph said. 

“I’m afraid I’m going to stay here with them,” Mizuki piped in. “Please do not break anything.” 

Leo gave her and Raph a thumbs-up before he headed into the Hall of Victories with Moncrief. 

A while later, Raph and Mizuki inspected the place. Donnie was still busy with the signing protocol. 

“I’m not sure about this, guys,” Mizuki confessed. “Something is going on with Moncrief. He’s acting more like the character he’s played in the Jupiter Jim franchise. And there’s something strange about this place.” 

“Yeah, this dude is creeping me out,” Raph agreed. “Let’s just get the autograph and jet, all right?” 

Donnie paused his signing protocol and glanced up at the two. 

“Do not rush me. Exposing interior pages to the elements could impact its Ultra-Mint condition,” he gestured to the comic book, which glistened under the light. 

“Well, I hate to tell you this, babe,” Mizuki shrugged. “But one day, it’s gonna come to good use.” 

“He’s got some cool stuff, though,” Raph knelt to one of the statues’ level. “I mean, this statue really looks like his red panda sidekick, Red Fox.” 

The statue blinked at him. 

Raph yelled and backed away. “It blinked!” 

Donnie and Mizuki both studied the statue. 

“I’m sure it is merely an optical illusion caused by—“ Donnie screamed when the statue blinked again and climbed up on Raph’s shoulders. 

Mizuki screeched and stepped behind Raph. 

“Help…me…” the red panda pleaded. 

“She’s…she’s alive!” Raph shouted. 

The three teens ran through the Hall of Victories doors and stopped in their tracks. 

The statues, who are people in Jupiter Jim villains costumes, blinked, indicating that they had been frozen. 

“They’re all alive,” Raph realized. “Moncrief thinks he’s the real Jupiter Jim, and these poor fans are real villains!” 

Donnie held the comic book as he stared at the trapped fans, and Mizuki covered her mouth with horror. 

Raph gasped when he saw Leo and Mikey in another box. “Leo and Mikey!” 

The two turtles were stuck frozen in a box resembling the city of Reptilia. 

“Where’s Moncrief?” Raph asked them.

“Jupiter Jim Ahoy!” Moncrief yelled from above. 

The three teens screamed and dodged out of the way in time before Moncrief landed on the ground in a Crushasaurus Mech outfit. 

“Hand over our friends, Moncrief!” Raph demanded. 

“Moncrief?” The movie star scoffed. “That’s just an Earth name I use to lull villains such as you into a false sense of security.” 

“Then pow!” He slammed his fists together. “Jupiter Jim neutralizes the threat and once again keeps the galaxy safe from evil!” 

“Oh, no! He must have played the main role so much, he’s lost his mind!” Mizuki understood. 

“Donnie, Mizzy! You go get Leo and Mikey,” Raph told them. “I’ll handle this space case!” 

As Raph charged at Moncrief, Donnie and Mizuki rushed back to the Reptilia attraction. 

“Leo, help us out! You’re the super fan,” Donnie said. 

“Answer…in…comic,” Leo replied through strained teeth. 

“Yeah, right, uh-huh,” Donnie chuckled in disbelief. “You cannot possibly be suggesting I expose this mint condition Jupiter Jim 1,000 to the elements!” 

“Donnie!” Raph yelled as he was chased around by Moncrief. 

“Can’t we just get new brothers?” 

“Donnie!” Both turtles shouted. 

“Just do it!” Mizuki boomed. 

“Okay, okay!” Donnie said. 

Sweating nervously, he slowly took the plastic cover off the comic book and flipped through the pages. 

“Mint, gah! Near mint!” He groaned anxiously. “Fine, oh! Very good—“ 

“No, I can’t look!” He turned as he flipped through the comic pages. 

He finally came across the way that would free Leo and Mikey from their frozen states. 

“Jupiter Jim’s Nerve Pinch reverse technique!” 

“Perfect!” Mizuki said. 

Donnie went up to the attraction and performed the Nerve Pinch reverse technique on Leo and Mikey, who both fell to the floor, freeing them from their frozen states. 

“Are you guys okay?” Mizuki asked and helped Leo up. 

“We’re free!” Mikey raised his arms as Leo rubbed his sore neck. 

“But at what cost?” Donnie whispered and held the comic book. 

He shakily reached for the pages, but stopped and stared out into space. 

“You did what you had to do,” Mizuki comforted him, patting him on the shoulder. 

Leo and Mikey only stared at him unamused. 

“Um, little help over here!” Raph called. 

He was picked up by Moncrief on the Crushasaurus Mech. 

“One down!” Moncrief said. 

“You’ll never catch the rest of us, Moncrief,” Leo smirked, and he, his two brothers and Mizuki readied themselves for battle. “Come on, guys, let’s—“ 

He was unable to finish his sentence before he and the turtles are suddenly picked up by the Crushasaurus Mech’s grips. Mizuki gasped in terror as she watched her boyfriend and his brothers being held hostage. 

Moncrief laughed menacingly and started to squeeze them. “Take that, alien scum! I will protect this Earth from all evil!” 

Mizuki only stared at the guys, who groaned in agony from the painful grips, until she realized something. 

“If he thinks we’re real aliens, then let’s be them,” she mumbled and smirked. 

“Jupiter Jim, please! Stop!” She shouted in her British-Scottish accent. “You must not destroy those innocent creatures!” 

“Must not?” Moncrief asked, scoffing. “And why must I listen to you, Princess? You’re barely at an age of being crowned.” 

“It’s true, but it doesn’t have to be this way,” Mizuki went on. “For Centulons, the Reptilian species had been at war, but the one thing I know Jupiter Jim values above all else is interplanetary peace.” 

Moncrief stopped squeezing the brothers and softened. “That is my prime directive…” 

“And peace begins with a hug,” Mizuki finished. 

“Peace, ahoy!” Moncrief then hugged the four brothers tightly. 

Mizuki sighed in relief, knowing that she was able to stop him in time. 

“Little mustard on that hug, but all good,” Leo groaned. 

The former movie star set the turtles down and beamed at them. “Now that our species have a tenuous alliance, I’ll be seeing you around the galaxy.” 

“I would love that,” Leo said. 

“Peace wins the day!” Moncrief said, still beaming, but then glared at the turtles for a moment. “But I’ll be watching you.” 

“Uh, guys?” Raph started as Donnie began using the Pinch reverse technique on the other fans. “Just wanted to point out that these ‘villains’ are actually regular people in costumes! Just wanted to make it clear so we’re all on the same page moving forward.” 

As the fans fled for their lives, the turtles and Mizuki flew out through the window. 

“Until we meet again,” Moncrief said his farewells to them. 

*****

The turtles and Mizuki arrived back at the lair to find Splinter sitting in his living room chair. 

“Ah, right where we left you,” Leo sighed, leaning behind him. 

“Oh, uh…” Splinter cleared his throat and regained his calmness. “Hello, sons and Mizuki. How was your day hanging out with Jupiter Jerk?” 

“Well, it has its ups and downs,” Leo shrugged. “But who needs that guy? As far as we’re concerned, we live with our hero. Our non-kidnap-y hero.” 

“Yeah, tell us about that stuntman again,” Mikey added. 

“Oh, Chad!” Splinter chuckled as the boys and Mizuki sat around him. “What a prankster.”


	53. Insane in the Mama Train

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: (staring at the three episodes where the Dark Armor is complete and the turtles are being wrecked by the Shredder)
> 
> Me: I'm not ready for it, I'm not ready for it, I'm not ready for it...
> 
> Me: ...
> 
> Me: Screw this.
> 
> *****
> 
> The song, in the beginning, belongs to Disney's Frozen 2.

12 years ago, at the Mystic Base…

“We really appreciate watching over our daughter while we’re off to face Draxum,” Garrett says to Jupiter. “Though we don’t know how long we’ll be gone.”

“It’s my honor, Garrett,” Jupiter nods, smiling at him. “I’ve been looking forward to watching over my goddaughter for you guys.”

“Now are you positive she’ll be safe here with you without Draxum knowing about her existence?” Garrett asks her.

“We are certain. As long as she stays with us, he’ll never know about her.”

Garrett stares at her before he nods again reassured.

Concurrently, in another room, Momoka prepares herself with her young three-year-old daughter sitting on the bed.

The child is playing with a stuffed wolf and kicking her legs up and down.

“Mama?” The child speaks up.

“Yes, Mizuki?” Momoka turns from her weapons and looks at her daughter.

“When awe you coming back?”

“I’m uncertain, sweetheart,” Momoka replies truthfully as she sheathes a knife on her pants. “But we will come back if we can.”

“I weally don’t want you to go, Mama,” Mizuki says disheartened.

Momoka sighs and kneels in front of her daughter. She takes her hands and rubs her thumb over the back of her palm.

“I don’t want to go, either, my darling,” she agrees. “Papa doesn’t want to go, either. But we must do what we have to do.”

Mizuki glances down at the ground and sniffles a bit.

Momoka smiles softly and gently lifts her chin with her finger. “But there is something I want you to remember. No matter how lost, how broken, or how sad, my mother has passed on this lullaby from her mother, and her mother before her. She had told me that it will remind you that there is a path that will lead you that not everything is hopeless, that there will always be something that we are a part of.”

“Weally?” Mizuki asks hopefully.

“Really, really, my little Lightning,” Momoka ruffles her daughter’s head.

“Momoka,” Garrett stops outside the doorway. “We’ll leave in a few hours, or whenever you’re ready.”

“Alright, honey,” Momoka nods.

Garrett walks up to his daughter and kisses her on the head.

“We’ll be back before you know it, squirt,” he tells her.

Mizuki hugs her father, and he embraces her back. He pulls away and messes with her hair, to which she giggles, before he kisses Momoka in the lips and heads out the door.

“Alright, little Lightning, time for bed now,” Momoka stands herself up.

“Mama?” Mizuki pipes in.

“Yes, Mizuki?”

“Can you sing fow me, Mama?” Mizuki asked.

Momoka giggles before nodding. “Of course, sweetheart.”

She picks her up and cradles her close to her.

“Where the North wind meets the sea, there's a river full of memory,” she sings softly and rocks her gently. “Sleep, my darling, safe and sound, for in this river, all is found.”

“In her waters, deep and true,” she tenderly pokes Mizuki in the chest and stomach, promoting the child to giggle. “Lie the answers and a path for you.”

“Dive down deep into her sound, but not too far or you'll be drowned,” Momoka places her forehead against Mizuki’s.

The younger girl yawns and nuzzles her head against her mother’s chest as she continues to sing the lullaby.

“Yes, she will sing to those who hear, and in her song, all magic flows. But can you brave what you most fear? Can you face what the river knows?”

“Where the North wind meets the sea, there's a mother full of memory. Come, my darling, homeward bound. When all is lost, then all is found.”

*****

12 years later…

“Aaah, aaah.”

Mizuki shot up from the bed and gasped as a pang rang through her head. She grabbed it and quietly groaned.

She didn’t let her hands break away from the sides of her head until the pain was gone.

She sighed in frustration and rested her forehead against her covered knees.

This is the fourth week she’s been having those headaches. Though she couldn’t be sure if they are headaches or just something else...

“Godammit,” she mumbled.

She got up from her bed and headed for her wardrobe while still soothing her pained forehead.

*****

Arriving at the lair, she heard a loud boom resonating from the living room. Mizuki gasped and rushed to the living room as fast as she could.

“Raph?” She called.

She came to a sudden stop when she saw Raph stuck to the wall and kicking his legs in the air.

“What the—“

Mikey laughed and walked up to Leo. “Classic Mikey prank attack.”

“Nice work, bro,” Leo remarked. “Gimme some!”

Mikey cheered and went to high-three Leo, only to realize that he just high-three-ed a dummy of Leo.

“Aw, nuts.”

He was suddenly blown back when the dummy exploded and hit a pile of pizza boxes. Mizuki gasped in fright and covered her mouth.

Leo laughed as he sat on the recliner chair, only to be blown up to the air and hit the ceiling before crashing back down.

“And victory,” Donnie smirked. “That, gentlemen, is why I’m the king of—“

He was cut off when Raph landed on him from the wall.

Mizuki rushed in and helped them off the ground. “Are you guys alright?”

“Yeah, we’re just having some prank war all of a sudden,” Donnie replied, dusting himself off.

Mizuki saw Leo texting someone while he was laying on the ground and peeked over his shoulder.

“Leo, are you texting someone?” She smirked.

Leo tensed up and hid his phone from her view. “Uh, no...”

“Aw, he’s texting Hallie!” Mikey teased his second oldest brother as he popped out from the pizza box piles.

“What! No, I’m—“

“Yep, he’s texting Hallie, all right!” Donnie chuckled.

“Dude, no—“

“Guys!” Raph yelled, shutting them up. “He’s not texting Hallie...”

“Thank you, Raph—“

“He’s texting his cutie pie!” Raph laughed loudly.

The two other turtles cackled wildly, as Mizuki stifled a giggle and covered her mouth.

“No! Come on, guys!” Leo yelled, blushing hard.

Mizuki continued to giggle as she nudged him in the elbow. “Now you know exactly how Donnie felt when you guys found out.”

Her alarm beeped from her knapsack. She quickly pulled it out and gasped.

“Oh, sh—I have to go!” She hastily said.

“Wait, where are you going?” Mikey asked.

“Jupiter and my parents said they’ve deciphered something from the prophecy back at the Mystic Base!” Mizuki explained. “They want me there as soon as I can!”

She then kissed Donnie on the cheek before rushing for the exit. “I’ll come back as soon as I can, guys!”

The turtles stared off at where she headed out and blinked a few times.

“What did they find?” Leo asked.

He only received shrugs from his brothers.

*****

Mizuki ran to the base, jumping over building roofs and avoiding hitting some people along the way. Even though her breathing was getting heavy, she didn’t slow down for a moment.

Another ripple of pain came over her head, and she groaned and grabbed at her head.

She tripped over her foot and fell off the edge of a building roof. Luckily, she grabbed a fire escape balcony and pulled herself back up.

“Agh! What was that?” She groaned and rubbed her forehead to soothe the pain.

After sitting to rest for a few minutes, she continued her way to the Mystic Base.

*****

She soon arrived at the Mystic Base, a hidden hideout for the warriors of brave underneath a construction building.

Speeding down the hallway, she made it to where Jupiter, her parents, and her friends are waiting. They are standing in front of something that is being covered by the curtains.

“Sorry, I’m late,” Mizuki panted, her hands resting on her knees. “I just had some trouble with a headache of some sort.”

“All well, Mizuki,” Jupiter nodded her head in acknowledgment. “You’re just in time.”

She pulled the curtains back to reveal a wall of murals. A feminine figure with green lightning bolts streaming from her palms stood apart from the murals.

“Wow,” Mizuki gasped amazed. “What is all this?”

“Those murals were drawn on that wall in chronological order based on the papers we have gathered,” Momoka explained.

“This mural was the last one we could find,” Garrett finished.

Mizuki studied the female in the drawing and tilted her head to the side.

“According to the prophecy, exactly as the Foot Lieutenant had told you back at the Central Station,” Jupiter added. “One with the bravest and strongest of hearts and souls of the Komori Clan will be able to control a power so strong it will destroy the darkest of souls. Nicknamed the Emerald Storm, the person who has been gifted those powers from their ancestors will help the descendants of the Hamato Clan defeat the Dark Armor, also known as Shredder, and prevent his notorious powers from destroying all of New York and Earth.”

“So, I’ve been gifted these powers for what?” Mizuki asked.

“We believe that you were given those powers to help the descendants of the Hamato Clan stop Draxum from using the Dark Armor,” Jupiter replied. “It’s been passed on from your mother and her mother and those before her.”

Mizuki gasped in astonishment, her eyes growing. Her mother had those powers before her?

"And I’m the only one who can stop the Shredder?” She glanced at her parents and Jupiter.

“You won’t defeat him alone,” Jupiter shook her head. “The descendants of the Hamato was said in the prophecy that they’ll help you stop him and restore him to his prison.”

She glanced down at the ground and thought about the turtles.

The guys and Donnie.

The descendants of the Hamato Clan.

“But why not telling me about this sooner?” Mizuki asked her next.

Jupiter pondered about it before she answered. “We had to wait until we’ve gathered everything we need to decipher the murals. So we could see it all clearly.”

“The fate of the Earth lies you and the turtles’ hands,” she finished.

Mizuki glanced down at her hands and took in what she had told her.

The Emerald Storm.

So that’s the meaning of the name. Because she is destined to help the descendants, the turtles, defeat the Dark Armor and save all of New York...

“I...I just need some time to think it over,” she said.

*****

A while later, Mizuki was resting in her bed back at her apartment, but she was having a hard time getting some sleep.

She tossed and turned, grunting with each side-flip she made.

The headaches and the voice were growing stronger...

.....

Mizuki gasps and shoots up from the floor, only to find herself no longer in her apartment or the Mystic Base.

Just a vast empty area with nothing in sight.

She scans the area for any sign of something, someone, until a faint glow appears behind her. She spins around to come face-to-face with a figure in a red-and-black armor like hers. They are wearing a helmet with the red insignia in the middle to cover their face.

“Oh, my God...” she breathes.

On both sides, more figures in red-and-black armor appear from the ground and rise to the first figure’s level.

Mizuki looks around her and is amazed at the numerous ancestors of the past.

The figure then removes the helmet to reveal a face, one similar to her mother’s, with blue hair tied back in a braid.

The ancestor then bows to Mizuki respectfully. “Komori Mizuki, you are given the greatest honor to wield the powers of the Emerald Storm. We all are here to guide you.”

Mizuki’s eyes grow in wonder.

“Words of wisdom, courage, kindness, and selflessness will be here for you should you need them in your journey,” the ancestor continues. “The call has been sent to you from the start. You must answer it and reach out to us in time.”

The light from behind Mizuki builds up until it engulfs the entire area.

.....

She shot up from her bed and panted heavily. She turned towards the bedside table and picked up her locket.

Her fingers trailed over the letter ‘M’, as the cover shone from the moonlight through the window.

She wondered about the name ‘Emerald Storm’, her being chosen to wield the powers from her first ancestor, her and the turtles prophesied to be the ones to stop the Shredder...

Sure, it’s a lot of pressure and work to be a great ninja and warrior, but the world, New York City, the people living in this world need them to keep them safe.

Mizuki narrowed her eyes with determination. Her decision’s been made...

*****

“I knew it would have been better if we told her the truth sooner,” Garrett said, facepalming himself.

“It’s alright, we were just occupied with fixing the murals of the prophecy,” Jupiter assured him. “She would have known by now.”

As the three adults were talking, they didn’t notice Mizuki coming in in the room.

They stopped talking when Momoka saw her daughter with a determined and guilty look.

“I’ve been thinking about you’ve told me, and…” Mizuki began. “I know this is not what I wanted, but if it means keeping New York safe and preventing the Dark Armor from being completed…”

She breathed deeply before she finished. “Then I’m willing to take this risk.”

The adults stared at her and one another before Jupiter approached her gradually.

“It’s going to require extreme training to have you ready,” she told her. “Are you sure about this?”

Mizuki nodded without hesitation. “I’m positive.”

The three adults beamed at her with determination and pride.

“Then let’s get you ready.”

For what seemed like hours, Mizuki trained with her parents and Jupiter as hard as she could to ready herself for the mission. Hallie and Hunter even helped out with the training by pretending to be Foot soldiers, with the ending result of Mizuki flawlessly finishing them off.

“The training that lay before you will require great focus and sacrifice,” Jupiter had told her. “You must be more than a Mystic Protector. You must be a Mystic Warrior, the great extension of the Mystic Rebellion. Only then will you be ready.”

Mizuki knocked out of the training dummies by kicking it with her foot. An orb of lightning green struck out from the impact, sending it flying to the wall.

Jupiter nodded at her proudly.

“Are you ready, Mizuki?”

“Yes, Jupiter,” Mizuki replied bravely.

*****

“Hunter has located the dark armor in the mystic train and sent the coordinations to us,” Jupiter instructed her and Hallie as they sped across the highway. “It should be speeding across the Hudson River.”

“Found it!” Hallie shouted, pointing at something out the window.

Sure enough, an invisible train sped across the river, leaving behind a trail in its wake.

“I’m gonna head up to the roof and I’m gonna jump when I get the signal,” Mizuki explained.

“I’m going in with you,” Hallie said, standing up.

“Me, too,” Hunter added.

“Be careful, you three!” Momoka called up to them as they made their way up to the roof.

The three teens stood on the roof of the van with ease.

“Get ready, guys!” Jupiter said.

They readied themselves for the leap.

“NOW!”

They jumped off the roof of the van and landed safely on the mystic train.

“Nice work!” Mizuki smiled at her two friends. “Let’s get inside!”

The three forced their way in the mystic train before it disappeared from the river.

“Be careful out there, Mystic Protectors,” Jupiter whispered.

Mizuki, Hallie, and Hunter walked around the train car, in a workout facility, while searching for the turtles. Various yokai didn’t pay any mind to them as they went around their business.

“Where are they? They should be here on this train,” Mizuki mumbled.

“How’d you know they would be here?” Hallie asked her.

The Foot Lieutenant rolled across the floor and groaned in pain. Mizuki, Hallie, and Hunter both looked up to find Donnie and Mikey fighting off the Foot Recruit.

“Just a lucky guess,” Mizuki replied.

She stopped, however, when she noticed something different about the turtles.

They’re not wearing their normal attire like they always do. They’re dressed in red and black attire, and Donnie didn’t have his goggles on him.

“I’ll stay here with Donnie and Mikey, you guys go find Raph and Leo,” Mizuki instructed the two humans.

They both nodded at her answer and headed out through the mystic door.

“Donnie?” Mizuki called to her boyfriend.

She was able to avoid being hit by the Foot Recruit, who was thrown over her, before she caught up with him and Mikey.

“Donnie?” She asked again, grateful to see them here. “You guys are here for the dark armor?”

“Yes, we are,” Donnie replied, smiling proudly. “And April’s with Leo as well, fighting off the Foot Brute and the guards we first encountered.”

“Wow, it’s so good to see you guys again, and—“ Mizuki started before she pushed Donnie and Mikey out of the way in time. “Watch out!”

She blocked off the Foot Lieutenant’s attack and kicked him away from them. He skidded across the floor and charged at them, as well as the Foot Recruit.

Donnie whipped out his bo staff and Mikey did the same with his kusari-fundo. Mizuki pulled out her fans, which glowed neon green at her touch, from her knapsacks and smirked.

“Guys, let’s give this Lieutenant and Recruit a lesson,” she said.

And they started the fight in the gym.

With Donnie and Mikey handling the Lieutenant, Mizuki decided to deal with the Recruit.

The Recruit repeatedly tried to attack her on the sides and from behind, but Mizuki was able to block off her hits and hit back at her with her fans.

She smirked at her before she kicked the Recruit away by the chest. She hit the lever, which turned off the gravity of the atmosphere of the gym.

The Recruit yelled as she and the others floated in the air. “Hey, you guys are gonna pay for this!”

“Gladly. How about I pay it like this?” Mizuki, who remained on the ground, smiled smugly.

She jumped up and kicked her in the chest again. The hit sent her flying towards the door with buttons and the Recruit disappeared upon pressing a button.

“Whoo, good work, Mizuki!” Mikey cheered.

The Lieutenant managed to reach the lever before smiling evilly.

He then pushed the lever sideways, turning the gravity on and off while laughing. Donnie and Mikey both screamed as they fell and flew up repeatedly.

“I’m gonna be sick!” Mikey cried.

Mizuki growled and ran towards the Lieutenant and kicked him away from the lever, energy of green lightning bolts booming from her heel. She turned the gravity back on, and Donnie and Mikey both fell back down.

“Thanks, Mizuki,” Donnie told her as she helped him up.

The Lieutenant snarled, getting up from the floor, and charged at them again. Donnie and Mikey both stood in front of her protectively and ready for a fight again.

Three fingered-hands suddenly grabbed him through the doors and pulled him through it.

“Come on, guys, we got an idea,” Leo said while smiling.

Donnie, Mikey, and Mizuki both beamed at one another and followed behind him and Raph.

After dealing with the Foot Brute, who had been knocked unconscious, and leaving him, his partners and the two guards in a presentation about taxes, the teens and Mystic Protectors finally made it to the front of the train where the Dark Armor would be.

Raph and Mizuki both gasped when they saw the Dark Armor, almost completed.

“Okay, how did you know about the black button?” April asked Raph.

“I paid attention to a small, but important detail,” he replied. “It was the only button they didn’t want me to press.”

“Hey, I paid attention!” He realized happily.

“I did not rely on my tech once,” Donnie added, with his arms folded.

“Raph and I mind-melded,” Leo piped in.

“Awesome!: Mikey pumped his fists. “We followed Master Splinter’s teachings! We are...”

“The Hamato Clan!” The turtles all cheered.

April, Mizuki, Hallie, and Hunter all smiled at them with pride and amazement.

Now there’s no way things could go wrong—

“How sweet.”

They all stopped, fear now stricken on their faces, when they heard Draxum’s voice.

“Daddy’s little turtles are all grows up. He must be so disappointed.”

As they slowly turned around, they saw vines appearing from the darkness and surrounding April and Hunter.

“April! Hunter!” Mizuki cried and reached out to them.

The vines grabbed April and Hunter before they could react and were pulled by force towards the dark.

“Mizzy!” April screamed, her cries echoing.

“No!” Raph yelled.

More of the vines appeared and grabbed the turtles and the two girls and held them up in the air.

Mizuki struggled to free herself from the vines’ grip, but it was no use.

She suddenly felt a strong shock ripple through her from something and let out a pained scream.

“Good thing he’ll never have to look at you again.” She heard Draxum chuckle evilly as he stepped out of the darkness.

She attempted to stay awake, but the power of the shock was too strong for her.

The last thing she heard before she gave in to the blackness that engulfed her vision was Donnie fearfully calling out her name...


	54. End Game

Back in New York City…

Splinter walked around outside the Turtle Tank with worry. Momoka and Garrett are also worried as the man held his wife’s hand in reassurance. Jupiter leaned against the van with her arms folded. 

The similarity: they’re getting worried for the teens. 

“No contact. Where are the kids?” Splinter asked aloud to himself. 

“I think we’ve sent our daughter to her doom,” Momoka said. 

“That’s not true,” Garrett reassured her. “She’s been trained since she was at a young age. She could handle this with the turtles.” 

Jupiter saw April and Hunter, both tied up in brown gunk, fall through a portal and yell out muffled screams. 

“April! Hunter!” She cried. 

Splinter, Garrett, and Momoka heard her and noticed the two teens all tied up and gagged. 

“Hold still,” Jupiter instructed them. 

She pulled out a knife and cut off the gag from their mouths. 

April caught her breath, as well as Hunter, before she spoke up. “We’re doomed! Draxum captured the guys, Mizuki and Hallie!” 

The four adults gasped in terror. 

“No! Not our daughter!” Momoka said, close to tears. 

“My sons!” Splinter growled. 

“He ordered us to tell you that we have to give him the last piece of the dark armor, or he’s gonna do something bad to them!” Hunter added. “And he knows that you have it!” 

“What?” Splinter asked, confused. 

*****

“Aaah, aaah. Aaah, aaah.” 

Mizuki shot up from the floor and looked around. 

This is not Draxum’s lab or the turtles’ lair. She knew well it’s not the Mystic Base, either. 

Four stone walls surrounded her, and a bench was placed on one of those walls. 

When she moved to get up, her foot was trapped in a chain on the wall. However, she was able to see through the barred window to find herself in one of the prisons in a tower. 

“No…” she whispered. 

The door opened behind her, and she gasped upon seeing Draxum, who is smiling darkly at her. 

She growled and went to attack him, only to get caught in his grip by the throat. She grabbed at his fingers in hopes of making him let her go. 

“Very brave and feisty, yet so weak against my grip,” he said. 

He tossed her to the floor, and she grunted upon impact. 

“You…will not get the last piece of the Dark Armor!” Mizuki snarled at him, a few strands of hair on her face. 

“Oh? How about when I blackmailed the turtles’ father and your parents to give me the last piece?” Draxum smirked down at her. “Or perhaps, use you as leverage to make them do as I ask?” 

“Go ahead and try all you want!” She spat at him. “They’ll find me here, and they’ll help us kick your behind and destroy the Dark Armor if they can!” 

“Such a fiery spirit in you,” the mutant alchemist knelt to her level and lifted her chin forcefully. “But soon, it will be extinguished by my hands, as well as the thousands of human lives in this world.” 

He let her go and went on. “Very soon, the humankind will all tremble before my feet as I lead my yokai kind to domination.” 

He walked away from her, leaving her in the prison. 

“You won’t get away with this, do you hear me?!” Mizuki shouted at him. “You won’t get away with all of this!” 

He stopped at the door, his hand holding it open. He turned back at her slightly, grinning darkly. 

“I will get away with it,” he said before he closed the prison door and locked it again. 

Mizuki panted heavily and started pulling at the chain. 

No matter how hard she struggled, how hard she pulled at it, the chain was not going to break at any time. 

Finally, she gave up and sat down on the floor on her knees. She sobbed silently and covered her eyes with her hand. 

‘It’s hopeless,’ she thought. ‘We’re too late. The Armor’s almost done, and Earth’s doomed…’

All hope is not lost…

Mizuki looked up when she heard her ancestor’s voice and glanced around the area. 

The call has been sent to you from the start, she remembered her ancestor telling her. You must answer it and reach out to us in time…

She breathed deeply and closed her eyes, her tears no longer flowing out. Concentrating as hard as she could, she silently called out to her ancestors in her mind. 

‘Be with me, be with me,’ she chanted internally. ‘Be with me…’ 

A bright flash of white engulfed her darkened vision before she was completely lost in her mind….

*****

Mizuki fell from the sky and landed on the ground with ease before looking up. 

A vast pitch-black space surrounded her, with nothing else in sight. 

She looked around and saw that she was no longer in her armor. She now wore a red and green sundress that reached the bottom of her knees. Her hair was in the same braid hanging over her shoulder and reaching her waist. 

The blue-haired girl continued to look around for anyone, anything to see until a familiar voice echoed from afar. 

“Aaah, aaah. Aaah, aaah.” 

Mizuki heard the voice and turned around hastily before a faint light shone from afar. 

When she spun around, her eyes grew wide, about to flood with tears. 

A large mountain in the shape of a diamond stood on the horizon, a faint green light blooming from the entrance. Mixtures of greens, blues and teals repeatedly blinked as they called for her to come forward. 

They’re calling her. They must be the voices calling her home…

All hope is not lost. There’s still a chance…

“I’m here,” Mizuki smiled, close to tears. “I’m coming.” 

She then took slow steps towards the mountain-like structure. 

There’s no turning back. She’s going to embrace her destiny. 

“Every inch of me is trembling, but not from the cold,” Mizuki sang and wiped a tear from her cheek. “Something is familiar, like a dream I can reach but not quite hold.” 

“I can sense you there, like a friend I’ve always known,” she continued to sing as she stepped towards the tall structure. “I’m arriving, and it feels like I am home.” 

“I have always been a fortress,” she let down her hair and strolled inside the building. “Cold secrets deep inside. You have secrets, too. But you don’t have to hide.” 

“Show yourself, I’m dying to meet you,” she circled the interior. “Show yourself, it’s your turn.”

She then stared up at the walls of the structure and treaded her fingers against it. “Are you the one I’ve been looking for all my life? Show yourself, I’m ready to learn.” 

Mizuki vocalized and was followed by a female voice. When she turned around, the green and teal orb floated on the wall and suddenly bolted through an entryway. 

She beamed determinedly and followed after it. 

“I’ve never felt so certain,” she sang again, running down a hallway, and trailed her hand on the orb. “All my life, I’ve been torn.”

“But I’m here for a reason,” she then slid on an icy pathway with ease, still gaining chase of the orb. “Could it be the reason I was born?”

She bounded from the edge and leaped over the steps leading to another ledge. “I have always been so different. Normal rules did not apply.” 

She landed on the ledge perfectly and kept on going after the orb down the hallway. “Is this the day? Are you the way I finally find out why?” 

The light had flown through a hole of fallen stones. Mizuki concentrated hard and pushed the stones back to their standing places with her invisible strength. 

“Show yourself, I’m no longer trembling,” she sang and began lifting other fallen pillars with her powers. “Here I am, I’ve come so far. You are the answer I’ve waited for all of my life.”

She stopped near another entrance leading to a room. When she pressed her hand against it, the door changed to colorful crystals that floated in the air. 

“Oh, show yourself. Let me see who you are,” she stepped towards the center of the dark room. 

“Come to me now,” she sang, as one of the orbs, an electric green light, circled her and floated up on one side of the center. 

“Open your door,” another ball of light, a clear teal, flew past her and hover next to the electric green orb. 

“Don’t make me wait one moment more,” a different orb of ocean blue left behind wavy lines as it floated next to the second. 

“Oh, come to me now,” the last one of nature green came from above the ceiling of the room and hovered beside the third light. 

“Open your door,” the four orbs changed to diamond-shaped platforms and gradually stuck to the floor. 

A teal-and-green sphere formed in the center and blinked a few times. 

“Don’t make me wait one moment more,” Mizuki stepped to the center of the diamonds. 

The diamonds then released miniatures diamonds, which circled her and hovered higher. 

Mizuki raised her arms and the diamonds shot up in a flash and hit the ceiling. 

The black walls instantly changed to various images upon impact from the diamonds. The moving images are revealed to be the past of her family, her ancestors before her parents and herself. 

“Where the north wind meets the sea.” 

Mizuki gasped in awe at the images surrounding her. 

“Aaah, aaah,” a female voice resonated from the side of her. 

When she turned towards the source, she recognized a younger Momoka cradling an unconscious Garrett in her arms while vocalizing. 

“Aaah, aaah.” 

“There’s a river full of memory, memories, memories.” 

“Mama,” Mizuki said, choked up. 

“Come, my darling, homeward bound,” her ancestor sang from the side of the younger girl over her. 

“I am found!” Mizuki sang next, now beaming fully. 

“Show yourself!” Both Momoka, who is holding a sleeping three-year-old Mizuki, and the older Mizuki sang together. “Step into your power.” 

Her sundress then formed to a newer darker green one which touched the floor. The diamonds sparkled from the lights of the room while she twirled around. 

“Throw yourself into something new.” 

She is now wearing a dress with a sweetheart off-shoulder neckline, see-through bell sleeves and an A-line skirt that touched the floor. The patterns of lightning bolts shone underneath the lights of the room. When she looked down at her feet, they were covered in brown sandals. Her hair is now put up in a middle bun, which is being held by a lightning bolt pin. 

“You are the one you’ve been waiting for,” Mizuki’s ancestor sang to the younger girl. 

Mizuki laughed while a few tears began to form. “All of my life! Oh, show yourself!” 

The images of the past then changed to smoke. She twirled her arms around and the clouds moved under her command. 

“Aaah, aaah,” she vocalized, joined in by the other voices. “Aaah, aaah.” 

The clouds had finally risen to the ceiling like a tornado. 

“Aaah, aaah!” Mizuki finished singing just as she threw back her hands. 

The clouds dispersed to reveal her in a clear white room with various memories of her life. 

She smiled at each one as she examined them. 

“Mizuki,” her ancestor said. 

She spun around and found her ancestor standing there. 

She held out her hand to her and smiled at her encouragingly. 

Mizuki smiled back and took her hand. 

*****

Outside the tower, the adults, April, Hunter, Todd, Bullhop, Frankenfoot, and Shelldon talk about their plan to save the turtles and two girls. 

“Okay, B-Team,” Splinter, who is wearing his outfit from his old days, said to them. “Shelldon quietly drops Frankenfoot over the wall to provide a distraction. With the Foot distracted, Bullhop creates an opening with his massive pectoral energy. Inside, April and Hunter spring the gate for the Todd Squad, Momoka and Garrett, and once the hounds sniff out the boys and Mizuki and Hallie, Jupiter and I ninja them out and we are home free.” 

“Now, does anyone have any questions?” Jupiter spoke up. 

No one seems to ask something. 

“No? Then let’s move!” Splinter commanded. 

The two mutants, with Shelldon and Frankenfoot both started for the main gate of the tower. 

“Wait! Watch out for—“ Momoka exclaimed. 

She never got to finish her sentence as the four got trapped in a classic trap. 

“…traps…” Momoka finished, cringing. 

Splinter groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Okay, new plan. We each take out 300 ninjas.” 

“And after that, Momoka and I are going to pay Draxum a little visit,” Garrett said, smirking at his wife. 

“We’ll be back for you!” April said to the trapped four before she followed behind the adults. 

*****

Raph kicked open the door and he, with his brothers and Hallie, popped out through the opening. They looked up at the very top to find lighting crackling from above. 

“Based on my knowledge of climatic finishes, the dark armor’s got to be up there!” Raph theorized. 

“Let’s go kick some bad guys butts!” Hallie declared. 

Meanwhile, the adults and April and Hunter both stopped in their tracks when they found numerous Foot soldiers, and the Lieutenant and Brute waiting for them. 

“Get them!” The Lieutenant ordered. 

The soldiers charged at the adults, April, and Hunter. 

“There’s too many of ‘em! We won’t fight them off!” Hunter said. 

“Let us see how they fare against my patented—“ Splinter jumped up in the air. 

“Macho Gazpacho Fury Kick!” He finished off every Foot soldier in less than a minute, and they exploded. 

“Whoa,” the Brute gasped in amazement. “The Macho Gazpacho Fury Kick.” 

“Mesmerizing to see it in person,” the Lieutenant remarked. 

He and his partner were both knocked out by Splinter and landed at where Draxum is sitting on his throne. 

Leaving April and Hunter to deal with the other Foot soldiers, Garrett, Momoka, and Jupiter faced off the Brute and Lieutenant, who recovered themselves a moment later. 

Splinter, meanwhile, fought off Draxum to get the whereabouts of his sons. 

Concurrently, the turtles and Hallie, who are now making their way up to the tower, battled every Foot soldier that was charging at them from below and above. 

“Alright, you flame-head punks! Where’s our daughter?” Garrett demanded. 

“You mean, the Emerald Storm?” The Brute asked back. “We don’t know where she is.” 

“Bullcrap!” Momoka kicked him away from her husband and swung her weapon at him. “You’re trying to dissuade us from finding her!” 

“We’re serious!” The Lieutenant pleaded while fighting Jupiter. “We don’t know how she had escaped! The cell she was in was empty when we came to collect her!” 

Jupiter finally knocked him down and studied his eyes until she knew he and his partner were telling the truth. 

“You mean…you don’t know what happened to her?” She asked.

“It’s true, it’s true! Honest!” The Brute nodded. “All we could find was the chain that was holding her broken to pieces!” 

“So, if you don’t know where she is, and you don’t have her, then where is she?” Garrett asked her. 

The turtles and Hallie soon arrived at the top and found their dad, the adults and April, and Hunter. 

“Dad?” Raph gasped. 

“My boys!” Splinter beamed. 

Donnie couldn’t find Mizuki anywhere and became worried. “Wait, where’s Mizuki?” 

No one was able to answer his question, as they were too occupied watching Draxum place the final piece, Splinter’s teapot, in the dark armor. 

“The final piece of the dark armor?” Raph realized with terror. 

“No!” Splinter yelled. 

He went to attack Draxum again, only to be knocked back by the force of the dark armor once the last piece was placed in and sent flying back to the others. 

Draxum laughed evilly as the dark armor came to life, surrounded by a pink-red fire. 

The turtles, human teens, and adults watched in horror as Draxum doned on the armor while still laughing. 

When the helmet placed itself on his head, his laughter was replaced with low-pitched cackles. 

“At last, I can end the human threat once and for all!” Draxum declared. 

“Not if we have anything to say about it!” Raph charged at him.

He tried to hit him with his tonfa, only for his weapon to touch a force field. Draxum hit him back with his finger, sending him back towards his brothers and friends. 

Draxum chuckled and outstretched his hands. Ropes with knives on the end grabbed two pillars, which are sliced off and are now hovering over the mutants and humans. 

“Okay, question,” Leo added. “Was he always strong enough to do that?” 

Draxum raised the pillars and threw them down at the group. 

The mutants and humans both screamed and braced themselves for it. However, they didn’t notice a familiar figure racing towards them and forming a shield over them before the pillars toppled over them. 

As the smoke cleared, Draxum stood, small lightning bolts crackling through the armor. 

“I have never felt anything like!” He exclaimed. “Sheer exhilaration! Intense energy! Focus of power!” 

“And perfectly tailored!” Huginn remarked. 

“Yeah, somebody got a celebrity makeover,” Muninn said. “Hot-cha!”

They both got deflected by Draxum’s lines in reply. 

“Master Shredder,” the Brute and his partner bowed to him. “We await your orders.” 

“Shredder?” Draxum scoffed. “I’m not Shredder, I am Baron Draxum! With this armor, do you know what I will do to the humans?” 

“Uh…shred them?” The Brute said uncertainly. 

“No!” Draxum slapped him with his line. “What’s with you and all the shredding? I will destroy them!” 

He formed himself in a drill and made his way up to the surface. 

Meanwhile, the rubble shook and toppled over to reveal the turtles and humans still alive. 

They all glanced up at their savior and gasped. 

Mizuki, still clad in her dress, lowered the shield with her hands as soon as she knows the rubble is gone and not over them. Her eyes are now glowing bright green. 

“Mizuki?” Donnie asked worriedly. 

“It’s alright, Donatello,” Mizuki, whose voice is now changed to grown-up woman’s, reassured him. “She’s still in here.” 

Donnie smiled lightly at her reassurance. 

Mizuki saw Draxum gone and now heading for the surface and glowered. She then turned back to the turtles and the others. 

“Meet me up on the surface as soon as you can,” she told them. “There’s not much time left.” 

Before anyone else could stop her, she flew up to the city above, following behind Draxum’s trail. 

“Dad, we got to apologize,” Raph said to Splinter. “We tried to follow the way of the Hamato Clan, but it just didn’t work for us.” 

“No, no,” Splinter said. “It is I who should apologize to you. The scrolls were wrong. And I was wrong to make you follow them.” 

“So you’re not mad at us?” Mikey asked him. 

“No,” Splinter replied. “It is not training, or rules, or traditions, that makes you special. It is being yourselves. If I’d had faith in how special you each are…none of this would’ve happened.”

“Aww,” Mikey said, his and his brothers’ eyes sparkling with solemness. 

“I don’t normally feel things, but that one got through,” Donnie said, wiping his eyes with his arm. 

They instantly hugged their father tightly while still crying. The other adults, Hallie, Hunter, and April watched the scene happily. 

“Here, I brought you something,” Splinter pulled out the turtles’ bandanas from his pocket and handed them over. 

The turtles stared at their bandanas and ripped off their ninja outfits with ease. 

After putting them back on, they grabbed their weapons and beamed proudly. 

“Now go!” Splinter commanded. “And be your awesome selves!” 

Mayhem appeared in a bright bulb of blue and landed in April’s arms and purred. 

“Mayhem, great!” April exclaimed, cuddling him. 

Donnie pressed a button on his arm device, and a drill appeared from the ground. 

“Whoa!” 

“All right! Time to finally see what this baby can do!” Leo cheered. 

Donnie sighed in annoyance and slid up to the drill. “Again, the drill is in beta.” 

“Then what’s it for?” Hallie asked. 

“Well, it does contain the backup copies of all my tech,” Donnie smirked as he pressed another button, revealing his created robo shells. 

He was about to don on his Battle Shell, but Garrett stopped him for a moment. 

“My daughter’s up there after that monster,” he told him. “Help her get him back to where he belongs.” 

Donnie nodded at him in agreement and fully placed his Battle Shell on him. 

The turtles, with Leo holding Hallie close to him, flew up to the surface on Donnie’s robo shells. 

“Please, keep our daughter safe,” Momoka pleaded silently, with Garrett wrapping his arm around her shoulder. 

*****

“It’s a beautiful day here for an exciting doubleheader,” the announcer at a baseball game declared to the cheering audience. “Yeah, there’s nothing like eight hours of baseball to liven up your—“ 

He was suddenly interrupted as Draxum, clad in the Shredder armor, blasted through the earth and landed safely.

The crowd gasped in fright at the sight of him. The cameramen changed the cameras to his direction. 

Draxum took the microphone off the stand and cleared his throat. 

“Humans, an ancient prophecy speaks of a great threat to my people and their way of life,” he spoke to the crowd. “And that threat is you. So without further ado, prepare for mass destruction.” 

The crowd stood up in a flash and ran away and screamed in panic. 

Draxum was about to send his lines after the crowd, but another figure blasted through the ground and landed on the earth. 

Mizuki glowered at him and stood upright. 

“What?” Draxum gasped. 

“Baron Draxum. I am Komori Mizuki, daughter of Komori Momoka and Garrett, descendant of the Komori Clan,” Mizuki said to him. “The Mystic Rebellion told me of a prophecy, in which foretells a greater threat being defeated by warriors of green and lightning. And we cannot allow you as the greater threat to destroy the human race.” 

“‘We’?” Draxum scoffed smugly. “Why do you say ‘we’ when there’s only you?” 

The turtles, who are now back in their original attire, and Hallie jumped up through the hole. 

“Draxum! We’re sick of you messing with peoplekind!” Mikey said. 

“You are going to face a brand new opponent that is back to its old self!” Donnie added. 

They landed on the ground and stood beside Mizuki. 

“The Teenage Turtles who are Ninjas and Mutants!” Raph finished. 

“Really? Is that the best we’ve got?” Leo asked him unamused. “Because we have had so much time to think of a new way to say that.” 

“Actually, I would like to prefer you guys as…the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” Mizuki corrected them. “And I would be honored to fight alongside you all.” 

The turtles beamed at her happily. 

The five teens then sprung towards Draxum, and the battle was on. 

“You were never a match for me!” Draxum said and started to take down the turtles one by one. 

“You should have joined me when you had the chance!” Draxum slammed his fist on the ground. 

A large boulder rose and sent the turtles flying. 

Mizuki and Hallie are the only ones who had managed to avoid Draxum’s attacks.

“How are we gonna take him down?” Hallie asked over the chaos. 

Mizuki saw something being written on the board and squinted her eyes. 

The words being typed are reading ‘Guys, it’s April (*^3^)/ {>. The armor has a flaw’.

Mizuki thought about it until she realized something. “A flaw? That’s it!” 

“Guys! The armor! It has some kind of flaw in there!” She called out to the turtles. 

“A flaw?” Raph, who was getting hit by one of the lines, asked. 

April appeared in the baseball field, while Mayhem, Momoka, Garrett, Jupiter, and Splinter sat on the baseball team’s side. 

“April? Duck!” Leo called to her. 

She ducked down in time as Leo, holding onto a line, swooped over her. 

“There’s gotta be something that can help destroy the armor!” April said. 

“But what?” Raph asked. 

“Hey, do you guys remember the time we were playing Sportsball and we couldn’t find a ball?” Donnie asked. 

He thought about what he had recalled and gasped. 

“Huh? Could it be?” He donned his goggles and scanned the armor around until he found a Jupiter Jim figure stuck on the backside of the helmet. 

“Yes, our Jupiter Jim action figure is the flaw!” He realized. 

“Oh, so that’s why my tea always tasted like of plastic and evil,” Splinter said. 

“So, if we can hit it, we could destroy the whole armor?” Mikey asked and avoided one of Draxum’s attacks. 

“Well, that’s how it works in all your favorite sci-fi movies,” Leo added. 

“All right, guys, what’s our approach?” Donnie asked, readying himself. 

“Well, there’s two schools of thought,” Raph said. “We launch a precision attack with pinpoint accuracy on a target that’s impossibly small, or…”

“You do you!” Mizuki finished for him. 

“Total chaos!” Mikey cheered. 

“Jazzed!” Donnie exclaimed. “I will recklessly keep him busy!” 

He formed his bo staff to the rocket ends and launched at Draxum. “Entropy!” 

“Yeah, whoo!” 

“We be we, baby!” 

“Hot soup!” 

Soon, the teens ran at Draxum and began fighting him again. 

With Donnie, Mizuki and Hallie distracting Draxum, Raph ran his tonfa-power whip across the stadium chairs and made baseballs fly up int he air. 

“Power fun jitsu!” Mikey twisted his kusari-fundo around, catching the baseballs and throwing them towards Leo. 

Leo grunted and formed a portal over him as he skidded across the ground. 

The chairs and baseball fell through the portal. 

Mizuki saw this as her chance and readied herself for the big attack. 

Leo cheered and created more portals around Draxum. When the chairs and baseballs flew at him, Mizuki used her invisible force to catch a few stray balls and chairs and throw them back at him. 

“Oh, do the children wish to play?” Draxum mockingly asked. 

He sent serpent-like lines at the turtles and Hallie, but Mizuki pulled her away in time with her powers and placed her near Jupiter. 

The serpents trapped the turtles in their mouths, though they were unable to catch Mizuki since she was fending them off with ease. 

“Yeah, that’s my girl!” Donnie whooped while hitting the serpent holding him with his bo staff. 

Mizuki saw a lone ball on the dirt and kicked it up with her foot and hit the helmet with it. 

The ball soared up in the air and fell towards where April is. 

“April O’Neil…” April pulled off the Foot soldier mask and placed her glasses back on and picked up a baseball bat. 

She hit the ball with the bat, sending it towards the Dark Armor helmet. “Bam!” 

The ball hit the Jupiter Jim figure straight through, and the helmet fell off Draxum’s head. 

Energy crackled and then exploded, engulfing the whole area. 

The turtles and Hallie are covered in goo from the explosion and watched on in horror and shock as Draxum groaned and the armor pulsated. 

“What’s going on? I feel weak,” Draxum gasped. “Like…power…being…drained…” 

The armor shot him out, and he fell to the earth, his body now shrunk. 

“You’re out!” April slid up to him. 

“Great shot!” 

“We all kinds of bad!” 

“Uh-huh, gimme five!”

“Whoo!” 

“It worked!” 

The turtles and girls cheered and high-three-ed one another. 

“I love it when having no plan comes together,” Raph said, his hands on his hips. 

“Guys, we’ve learned a valuable lesson,” Leo spoke up. “Irresponsibly breaking Splinter’s teapot and not telling him is the smartest thing we’ve ever done!” 

“And we got our Jupiter Jim figure back!” Mikey held up the now goo covered Jupiter Jim figure. 

Mizuki walked towards the group, smiling with pride. Donnie, who supported himself with his bo staff, walked over to her with a smile and blushed. 

He couldn’t help but stare at her new beauty, even when they came face to face. She’s truly more beautiful than before…

“You…you were incredible,” he commented to her. 

“And so were you,” Mizuki replied. 

She then kissed him on the lips for only a moment and pulled away, still smiling. Donnie blushed even more, a dopey smile growing on his face. 

The others laughed, while Hallie leaned onto Leo’s shoulder and smiled. 

“What a day! We be we, baby!” Mikey cheered. 

Mizuki smiled at his enthusiastic behavior until she sensed that something is not right. 

“Wait…” 

The wind howled in the sky as electric bolts crackled on the ground. Energy pulsed throughout the stadium, and the armor began to put itself back together. 

Behind the smoke, the armor stood up on its own gradually. 

“This isn’t over yet,” Mizuki said. 

The Shredder then stood up upright and growled. 

“The Shredder lives!” The Foot Lieutenant and Brute both bowed to the Shredder. 

“Long live the Shredder!” The Brute yelled. 

The teens and adults both stared at it with terror and astonishment. 

The battle’s not over…


	55. Many Unhappy Returns

The mysterious thunderstorm loomed over the baseball stadium. Lightning crackled across the sky, and the wind howled and blew harshly. 

The teens and adults stared at the now alive Shredder as the Foot Lieutenant and Brute bowed down to him. 

“Stand strong! The Shredder will show no mercy!” Splinter told the others. 

“Guys, Draxum’s weak and his body’s drained out,” Momoka said. “I think the Shredder took his life source.” 

“Senseis!” The Foot recruit ran through a portal. “My fury is unbridled and ready for—“ 

She gasped when she saw the Shredder living. “You resurrected Shredder without me?” 

While she was distracted, Draxum weakly lifted a vine and used it to get himself through the portal, which disappeared. 

The Shredder fell to all fours and roared. 

“I wanna say I feel prepared, but my chattering teeth won’t let me,” Donnie said, his hands shaking. 

“Don’t let fear get to you, Donnie,” Mizuki encouraged him, placing her hand on his shoulder. 

“Shred, shred, shred!” The three Foot people chanted, catching Shredder’s attention. 

The Shredder only roared and started chasing after them. 

“Don’t shred, don’t shred!” The three all screeched as they ran around. 

The Shredder grabbed them harshly and landed them on the ground multiple times. 

“Such blind rage,” Splinter said. “And going after his own. That makes no sense.” 

“Thanks for doing the dirty work for us!” Leo called to the Shredder. “Big ups, Shreddy!” 

“Not now, Leo!” Mizuki scolded him. 

“What? I thought a nickname might give us a nice rapport,” Leo replied to her. 

“Cowabunga!” Raph, Donnie, and Mikey both yelled as they charged at Shredder. 

The monster, however, knocked them back in a second and glanced at Leo and the others’ direction. 

“Back off! You don’t scare us…much,” April growled, stepping in front of them with Leo and Splinter.

The Shredder growled and ran at them on all fours at high speed. The creature roared as it prepared itself to make its kill. 

“No!” Mizuki instantly stepped in front of them. 

In a matter of seconds, both Mizuki and Shredder disappeared in flashes of green and purple. 

Leo opened his eyes to find Mizuki and Shredder gone. “Huh?” 

“Mizuki!” Donnie cried as he tried to find her anywhere in the baseball field. 

The three Foot people regained their balance and rubbed their heads. 

“So...that was unexpected,” the Lieutenant remarked. 

“You fools! Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!” Jupiter yelled at them. 

“You’ve doomed all of humanity!” Splinter shouted. 

“Have we?” The Brute asked. 

The Lieutenant and Recruit looked at him. 

“No, seriously, tell me. This has all been very confusing.” 

“We must find out what went wrong,” the Lieutenant said and formed a portal. “Back to the Foot Shack!” 

The three disappeared through the portal, which vanished. 

“Hey!” Raph went to chase after them, but Momoka stopped him. 

“Let them go. They’re not worth it for now,” she told him. 

Donnie worriedly stared at where Mizuki used to be. 

If she’s out there with that thing...please let her be safe, he thought. 

*****

Mizuki groaned and rubbed her head to ease the pain. She was back in the clear white area again. 

“Are you alright?” Her ancestor asked her. 

She extended her hand out to her, and Mizuki took it gratefully. 

“The armor...it was acting...strange,” she said. 

“How so, young warrior?” The ancestor asked. 

“It took Draxum’s life source, but it was acting more like an animal rather than a sadistic samurai. And then...it just disappeared along with me,” Mizuki explained. “The Shredder’s not like the stories we’ve heard back then.” 

“I believe I know why the Shredder is teleporting at random times,” the ancestor understood. 

She waved her hand, and an image of the Shredder and Mizuki fighting each other, while the younger girl is defending the teens and adults, at the Albearto’s Pizza Place before disappearing again. 

Mizuki gasped when she saw the image. 

“The Shredder’s quantum energy is definitely out of control. He has not grown accustomed to the human universe yet,” the ancestor explained to her. “And with you defending the humans and your friends and the two of you teleporting away, it’s hard for this creature to finish them off.” 

“So...how can he be defeated?” Mizuki glanced up at her. 

“It will be saved for another time,” the ancestor told her. “However, there is a way to keep him under control for a certain period.”

She waved her hand again to reveal a collar with a purple gem in the center. 

“This mystic bauble, or a collar, as you would call it, will put him out of his rage and bring him to a resting point,” the ancestor went on. “As we speak, one of your turtle friends and their father have made their way to Big Mama’s Battle Nexus to make a deal with her.” 

Another image of Leo and Splinter conversing with Big Mama, who is in her mutant form, appeared in front of them. 

“Of course Leo is trying to make some deal with Big Mama,” Mizuki rolled her eyes unamused. “The last time he saw her, she tried to get him killed.” 

“You’ll be in and out of consciousness while you teleport to different places in New York with the Shredder,” the ancestor explained to her. “In your conscious state, protect your friends and loved ones with all your life.” 

As Mizuki was returning to being awake, she nodded her head with determined eyes. 

*****

“April O’Neil!” April shouted as she drove a crane to hit the Shredder with as many long boxes as she could. 

Right now, the teens and adults are at the workers’ dock, where Mizuki and the Shredder are at the moment. 

Mizuki battled the Shredder while avoiding its attacks and narrowly hitting him back. 

“Man, I don’t know how many more of Shredder’s phasing-ins I can take,” Mikey said. 

“I can’t believe we trusted Leo to get back here quickly,” Raph narrowed his eyes at the thought of Leo leaving them. 

“All right, here’s the new plan,” he whipped out his tonfa and pointed at a drawn plan on the ground. “Everyone punch at a different place! Maybe we’ll find a weal spot!” 

The Shredder leaned in towards the teens and slammed its hand on the ground, promoting the teens to scream. 

“Punch it out, Mad Dogs!” Raph commanded. 

They started punching the Shredder in various places, which doesn’t seem to work for a second. 

However, Hallie hit it on the back of the knee, and they all gasped and backed away instantly. Mizuki paused and studied its expression closer. 

The Shredder laughed suddenly, not caring about the teens’ reactions. 

“We found a tickle spot!” Mikey realized. 

The teens looked at each other and laughed mischievously. 

“Mad Dogs...tickle!” Raph yelled. 

They started tickling the Shredder all over the place as the adults watched them in confusion. 

“It’s immobilizing him!” Donnie said. 

“Keep it up until Leo and Pops get back,” Raph said. 

Mizuki saw from a good distance a ship preparing to release some fireworks. Her heart dropped for a second until she had an idea. 

Heading out as far as she can away from dry land, she stood on the ledge of the dock and breathed deeply. Outstretching her hands to her sides, she concentrated with everything she had in her. 

Little fire bolts erupted from her palms and then are followed by more fireworks. 

“He likes it, Shredder likes it!” Hallie exclaimed. 

Green and teal fireworks from outside the docks caught the Shredder’s attention, and both it and the teens gasped with terror. 

They didn’t know that it was Mizuki who was leading the Shredder away from the ship that was already setting up firework. 

“Oh, no! The fireworks! He’s distracted by the fire!” Momoka shouted. 

The Shredder hissed and started his way towards the green and teal fireworks. 

“No!” Garrett cried. 

“We can’t let him get to whoever’s setting them off! Stop him, hurry!” Jupiter yelled to the teens. 

“Let’s go!” Raph slammed his fist on the ground, forming a red arm around his own. 

Donnie opened up his hover shell and followed behind Raph. Hallie and Hunter both ran beside the snapping turtle. 

“I’m on it. Whiporama!” Mikey threw his kusari-fundo on a ship and threw it to where Shredder would be speeding. 

The ship and its numerous boxes soared across the sky beside the turtles and humans. 

“That’s amazing, Mikey!” Raph said. 

“Whoa...” Donnie gasped. 

The Shredder avoided and sliced up the many boxes that fell its path and eventually destroyed the ship with its bare hands. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Raph slammed his mystic fist on it and landed safely on the ground.

“Come and get it, Shred Face,” Raph challenged. 

His Tonfa Power fist grew bigger and readied itself for the hit. 

“Power punches ahoy!” Raph yelled and threw his fist straight at the Shredder. 

However, the creature caught it with its head and growled at Raph. He chuckled nervously before he was punched back. 

The Shredder laughed when it saw it was getting close to the target. It was suddenly hit by Donnie’s bo staff and saw Donnie landing in front of it and catching his bo staff. 

“All of my tech is standing by,” he said with confidence. “And I mean all of my tech.” 

His various tech shells hovered over and beside him, and his drill appeared behind him from the ground. 

The Shredder growled and charged at him. 

He aimed his bo staff at the Shredder. “Eat science!” 

In a matter of seconds, his tech shells zoomed at the creature. 

Unfortunately, they became damaged when they collided with the monster, which roared as it charged at him. 

“Sad face emoji!” He yelled. 

He opened up his hover shell and tried to take off while yelping, but the Shredder caught him and destroyed his tech shell in the process. 

Donnie shrieked and made one of his robo arms open up to throw a handkerchief at the creature. 

The Shredder roared and tried to get the handkerchief out of its face. 

“Ha, ha! Reap the whirlwind of my hanky!” The soft-shell turtle laughed. 

The Shredder successfully destroyed the hanky and glanced back at him with a feral look. 

Donnie screamed as the Shredder jumped at him, but it was instantly kicked down by Mizuki. 

The two slammed against one of the boxes, and more toppled over, trapping them. 

“Mizuki!” Donnie cried. 

A thunderous roared from underneath, and Mizuki and the Shredder zoomed out from the boxes again. 

Mizuki landed on the ground with ease and stood back up, glowering at the Shredder. It snarled and jumped at her again. 

“Mizuki! NO!” Hallie cried. 

In a flash of green and purple, the two are now gone as the other times. 

Donnie frantically searched everywhere for his girlfriend before he saw his tech shells and drill restored to their proper versions. 

“She fixed my techs?” He gasped. 

“Her powers. She must have used them to repair your tech shells apart from the one you are wearing before she and the Shredder disappeared,” Jupiter theorized. “She saved your life.” 

“Yeah…she did,” he nodded. 

The teens and adults gathered around while groaning in pain and soothing their sore bodies.

“What is taking Dad and Leo so long?” Mikey got up with a fire on his head. 

Hallie quickly patted his head, extinguishing the fire. 

Raph pushed open the door of the box and crawled out. “I knew splitting up the Mad Dogs was a bonehead idea.”

He glanced up at the fireworks from the ship that Mizuki had distracted the Shredder from. “Leo probably talked his way straight into Big Mama’s dungeon.” 

Donnie wasn’t paying attention to what Raph was saying. All he could think about was Mizuki and praying that she’s still safe and alive. 

*****

When she came to, she was no longer standing in the area nor with the others. She gasps and quickly stands up as she finds herself in the same white room as before. 

“Hello?” She calls, her voice echoing. “Anybody?” 

No answer seems to appear. 

A female scream resonates from somewhere. Mizuki spins around hastily, trying to find the source. 

“Okay, I see the head! You’re almost there!” 

She stops. 

That voice. She’d recognize that anywhere...

“Donnie?” 

Out of the corner of her eye, she notices his shell bending over. She turns to find Donnie and a woman with blue hair on the bed. 

The woman has her bulging belly covered by a blanket as she leans against a pile of pillows. The older version of Donnie is kneeling on the bed between her legs, which were also covered by the same blanket. 

Mizuki gasps when she instantly recognizes the woman as herself. 

The woman screams again, gripping the fabric underneath, as she pushes. 

“The head’s out! They’re nearly there! Just one more push!” The older version of Donnie is close to tears when he looks up at her lover. 

The older version of Mizuki pushes one last time and lets out a strained grunt. Her muscle twitches as she gives every ounce of strength she had within her. 

The pressure has finally left her body and she leans back against the soft pillow pile. Her breaths are ragged and heavy, her skin coated with sweat, and a few strands of hair fall out from her messy bun and stick onto her forehead. 

A baby’s wail loudly breaks the short silence, followed by Donnie’s choked up laughter. 

Mizuki takes a few steps closer and gasps. 

“Oh, God. She’s beautiful,” older Donnie looks up at his lover with tears streaming down his cheeks. “She’s beautiful.”

As he wraps a towel around the crying infant, older Mizuki slowly sits herself up to get a better look at her newborn daughter. Older Donnie kisses the baby’s forehead before handing her to her arms. 

Mizuki could barely hold back her tears when she realizes this is her and Donnie in the future. 

“Oh. She’s really beautiful,” older Mizuki says, choked up. 

The infant ceases crying and coos the moment she was placed next to her mother’s chest. She has hair on her head, green skin and two fingers and a thumb on both hands. 

Older Donnie sets himself next to older Mizuki and strokes his daughter’s head. “She’s perfect.”

He kisses her on the head before he is met with older Mizuki’s lips. “I’m so proud of you.”

Mizuki stares at the scene in front of her and covers her mouth as the tears finally leave her eyes. 

The baby cooing brings the two’s attention back to her. 

“Would you like to hold her?” Older Mizuki asks. 

Older Donnie looks at her surprised, yet his eyes begin to fill with happy tears. 

“C-Can I?” He asks back. 

She nods in reply and smiles at him. 

Older Donnie carefully takes the baby from her arms and holds her close to him. 

He uses his finger to stroke her face. The baby coos before opening her deep violet eyes and beams toothlessly at her father. 

“Hey,” he says to her choked up. 

Older Mizuki chuckles at her lover and newborn daughter. 

“A-am I holding her right?” He implies to her. 

“You’re doing amazingly well, honey,” she says. 

“So, um…what are we gonna name her?” Older Donnie glances down at the baby girl, who is still grinning at him and laughing. 

Older Mizuki ponders for a moment before she beams. “I was thinking…Hamato Akira.” 

“Akira?” Older Donnie raises an interested eyebrow. 

“She will be bright and intelligent like you one day,” the older version of Mizuki replies. “She’ll learn a lot from you…” 

Donnie stares at her as he repeats the name. “Akira…” 

He then smiles as the baby coos. “I think it’s a perfect name…” 

Mizuki, in her present form, watches the scene for another moment before she hears something from behind her. 

She turns around and notices the older version of Donnie standing over a box on the table. The box, which is white with a purple bow, seems to be opened, and a note with the words ‘Happy Father’s Day, Donnie’ is in older Donnie’s hand. 

He studies the note and a pregnancy stick in his hands while raising a questioning eyebrow. 

“Donnie?” Older Mizuki speaks up. 

The older version of Donnie turns around to notice his lover leaning against the doorway with her arms behind her back. A smile is plastered on her face as she looks at him. 

Older Donnie blinks at her perplexed until he finally puts the puzzle together. 

“It worked?” He whispers, tears brimming his eyes. 

Older Mizuki nods, still smiling. 

Older Donnie laughs and picks up his lover by the waist and spins her around. He sets her down and rests his head against her still flat stomach, now crying in joy. 

Older Mizuki giggles and rubs his head. 

“It worked!” He laughs, still resting his head on her stomach. “We’re gonna be parents!” 

Mizuki gasps and laughs while some tears stream down her face. 

A pair of bells ring behind her now. 

She turns around to see her future self in a gorgeous wedding dress and older Donnie in a tux with a purple tie. 

“Oh, my god…” 

Older Donnie and older Mizuki embrace one another and kiss as the crowd cheers from outside the image. 

Mizuki beams at the sight and wipes a tear from her cheek. 

“You could still have a future with your lover, Mizuki,” her ancestor tells her. “If you learn to use your powers for the greater good.” 

Mizuki glances down at her hands and thinks about what she needs to do. 

“Dive down deep into her sound, but not too far or you'll be drowned,” Momoka’s voice calls from the outside.

“I don’t care what happens to me,” Mizuki finally speaks up after a moment of silence. “If I don’t defeat the Shredder, no one will be safe. Not New York, not my family…not even Donnie.” 

She looks back up at her ancestor with a determined look. “I’m not going to stop until the Shredder’s done for.” 

*****

The city of New York was now being pelted by the rain from above. 

The teens and adults sat in an alleyway while pondering over their next move and when the Shredder and Mizuki are going to appear again. 

“After inputting Shredder and Mizuki’s previous coordinates on the X, Y, Z and D for Donnie axes, I have calculated that this is the site of our final resting spot,” Donnie showed his arm device, which showed the places where they fought off Shredder. “I mean, go team?” 

“And we never got a chance to tell Mizuki we were sorry about sending her to her doom,” Momoka said, wrapping her arms around herself. 

“You and me both,” Garrett hugged his wife. 

A loud boom resonated from behind them, and they gasped, turning around. 

A portal appeared as lightning crackled. The adults and teens gasped, ready for another exhausting battle. 

“Oh, my muffins!” Donne screeched. 

Splinter, wearing a new uniform, and Leo, dressed in a Lou Jistu costume, popped out through the portal, holding the collar in his hands. 

“You love us, you missed us. We’re back, baby!” Leo said. “Rat Jitsu and Blue saving the day!” 

“Leo!” Hallie cried and rushed towards him. 

Leo laughed and opened up his arms to hug her. 

Hallie, however, slapped him across the face, prompting him to cry out in pain. Hunter and Mikey both winced, while Raph, April and Donnie’s eyes went big. 

“Where have you been, you green-skinned dork?!” Hallie lectured him. “We’ve been getting our butts kicked!” 

She then hugged him relieved, and he blinked before embracing her back. 

“Well, when I said, ‘You got this’, I mean that,” he chuckled. 

“And, look, the only reason we’re here right now is ‘cause Donnie inputted coordinates of blah, blah, blah. Mikey razzed his tazz. April finally used her crane license. The Mystic Protectors used their skills to keep the Shredder from being released. Mizuki keeps protecting us with her Goddess-like powers. And Raph is gonna put it all together in a plan to defeat that lead-head with this mystic collar,” he held up the collar as he spoke. 

“Wow, Leo, that’s remarkably accurate,” Raph sarcastically said. 

Donnie heard something beep on his arm device. When he looked at it, his eyes widened with terror. 

“Guys, it’s Mizuki,” he said, catching the others' attention. “…She says she’s gonna lead the Shredder away from New York.” 

****

Thunder crashing from above, the Shredder appeared on the shores of New York. It growled, scanning the area, before fireworks exploded in the raining sky. 

When the creature turned around, Mizuki had her arms outstretched as green and teal fireworks flew out of her palms and into the dark sky. 

Her green eyes narrowed at the monster. 

“I’m right here, Shredder. Come and get me,” she dared. 

The Shredder roared and charged at her at high speed. 

Mizuki stepped out of the way in time and thrust her hand out at it. 

An electric line shot out from the sandy ground and gripped the Shredder’s leg. The monster roared, slashing at it with no avail. 

When it went to attack her again, another line appeared and grabbed its arms and wrists. Mizuki then moved her hands in a push-down motion, and the electric lines pulled it down to the sand. 

“C’mon, you guys. Where are you?” Mizuki mumbled. 

The Shredder began thrashing around with all its strength as the lines slowly lose their strength. 

Mizuki groaned and fell to the earth on her knees. 

Her powers are growing weak. She won’t be able to hold it down any longer…

But she’s got to keep trying. For New York, for everyone she cares about. 

“Prepare for Operation Fire-Hanky-Tickle-Green Lightning-Collar!” Raph yelled as the teens charged at the Shredder. 

‘Perfect timing,’ Mizuki thought. 

Raph grabbed Leo before he could follow behind the guys. 

“Leo, are you sure you and Mizzy could get that on him?” He asked. 

“Trust me,” Leo replied. 

Raph smiled. “I do.” 

He let him go, and Leo and Raph both sped at the Shredder. 

The Shredder finally broke free of the lines. Mizuki groaned and stood upright while staring him down. 

“Lure him in, Mikey! Flame on!” Raph commanded. 

Mikey, even though he was scared, whirled his kusari-fundo around, and the end of the weapon flamed to life. 

That caught the Shredder’s attention, and he ran at him on all fours. 

“Okay, Donnie, the hanky!” 

Donnie slid up in front of the two teens with his bo staff in hand and shaking. “Donnie’s on it! One small step for turtlekind!” 

The bo staff’s robo arm threw a hanky at the Shredder’s face again. The monster shrieked and thrashed around while trying to get it off his face. 

Raph smashed his fists together, forming red energy fists. He shook them down under his hands and began tickling the Shredder by the back of his legs. 

“Leo, Mizzy, now!” 

Leo and Mizuki then ran at the Shredder, who is now being held back down by the electric lines, and jumped on his back and arm. 

It was getting harder to get the collar on the creature as it was moving around greatly, with Raph tickling him. 

Mizuki sighed, coming to her last decision, and closed her eyes. 

Her balled-up fists glowed a faint green before the light increased. 

“Wait, what are you doing?!” Leo asked her. 

“You must live, keep New York safe. For your brothers! For Hallie!” Mizuki replied to him. 

“I’m not letting you do this, Mizzy!” Leo cried. 

Her hands glowed brighter by the second, lightning bolts crackling. 

“You have to!” Mizuki yelled. 

She took the collar from his hands and grabbed him by the back of his shirt and threw him back to the other teens. Leo grunted when he hit the ground and skidded across the sand in front of Hallie. 

“Mizuki!” She cried as she helped him up. 

The blue-haired girl raised the collar in the air while the electric lines continued to hold Shredder down. 

The collar then glowed green and lightning crackled. 

Mizuki closed her eyes one last time. 

This is her choice. She’s not going back. 

She won’t back down. Not now. Not ever. 

*****

Her hands begin to glow neon green as electric bolts ripple put from her palms and fingers. Her eyes start to change from violet to the same color. 

Mizuki looks up and smiles as a tear streams down her cheek. 

Numerous images of her and her parents and friends smiling and laughing zoom past her vision. 

Of her as a baby with her mother and father. 

Of her being trained by Jupiter for the first time. 

Of her hanging out with Hallie and Hunter during break from training. 

Of her and the turtles laughing while hanging out on the roof one evening. 

Of her laughing at Splinter’s stories of the guys while they cringed in embarrassment. 

Of her and Yami chatting outside the Run of the Mill pizzeria. 

Of her, April and Sunita, with Mayhem, laughing away on April’s couch. 

Of her and Mikey showing their drawings to one another. 

Of Leo helping her try some tricks on his skateboard. 

Of her giving Raph giving him a stuffed bear with a red bow as a gift. 

Of her, clad in her homecoming dress, and Donnie kissing one another on a rooftop. 

Mizuki smiles as the lights shine brighter by the second. 

“I love you, Donnie...” she whispers. 

She then closes her eyes just as the entire area finally turns white...

*****

Mizuki opened her eyes, which shone bright green, one last time and yelled and placed the collar right on Shredder’s neck. 

Shredder roared, and a bright green and purple orb surrounded the two before exploding. The explosion sent rubble all over the place and forced the teens and Splinter to shield themselves. 

As soon as the bright lights disappeared and the wind dispersed, they looked up to find Shredder laying lifeless on a rock with the collar around his neck. 

They suddenly cheered and jumped around in triumph. 

“My sons,” Splinter hugged Leo. 

“We rad,” Mikey cheered. 

Hallie laughed and kissed Leo on the cheek multiple times. The red-eared slider blushed from the action and smiled. 

April stopped when she saw Mizuki not in sight anywhere on the beach. “Wait, where’s Mizuki?” 

Raph looked around and saw a figure lying on another rock from a meter away. “There!” 

Donnie followed Raph’s direction and his heart dropped. 

Mizuki laid on the floor face up, her hand over her stomach. 

Donnie tremblingly walked towards her unmoving body and fell onto his knees. His hands shakily moved to lift her tenderly before slowly cupping her face with his one hand. 

Mizuki’s eyes remained closed even when her face was now staring back at him. 

He wanted to cry out. He wanted to let out the loudest, painful scream his lungs could ever muster from within. 

But he had to hold it all back in. 

He had to, for the sake of his brothers, his father, his friends, for anyone he ever cares about. 

Donnie lifted her head towards his face and kissed her on the lips. They didn’t feel warm like they used to be, but rather cold and dead. 

As his lips parted from hers, his eyes, unfazed, yet solemn, gazed down at her unconscious body. A tear left his eye and landed on her cheek without him noticing. 

He set her down and sat down completely next to her. He covered his eyes with his one hand, the other gripping the bo-staff. Finally not being able to resist the urge to cry, he sobbed, his body shaking. 

Raph and Mikey felt their hearts breaking to see their brother trapped in devastation. Leo tried everything he could to keep the tears from leaving his eyes. 

Hallie sobbed silently and turned her head away, and the blue-branded turtle wrapped his arm around her. April hugged the oldest brother and quietly sobbed. 

Splinter was forced to watch his son mourn for the loss of his beloved lover, his eyes furrowed with solemnness. 

For a second, the silence wasn’t broken, apart from Donnie’s quiet sobbing. 

It wasn’t until a moment later Donnie glanced up at the Shredder, who didn’t move from the ground, the collar around his neck. 

He breathed heavily, his eyes narrowing, and instantly shot up from the ground and started attacking the unmoving Shredder with his bo staff and foot. The turtles, April, and Splinter became startled at his sudden attack. 

“You killed her! You killed the love of my life!” Donnie yelled at the top of his lungs as he continued to kick and hit the Shredder’s body with everything he has. “The promise I made to protect her was for her! I made an oath to keep her safe, and you killed her!”

The three turtles, April, and Splinter could only watch him take his heartbreak and anger on the unconscious monster. They wanted to step in, but now’s not the right time. 

“I love her with all my life! I love her with all my heart!” Donnie began to gradually hit the Shredder with his foot and bo staff, tears leaving his eyes greatly. “I love her with everything I ever have! I don’t care if she’s a Mystic Protector! I don’t care if she’s a Goddess from a prophecy! All I care about is how I love her!” 

The tear that had fallen on Mizuki’s cheek absorbed into her skin. A green glow faintly appeared before it faded away. 

“I hate you for what you’ve done to my brothers! I hate you for what you’ve done to New York! I hate you for what you’ve done to Mizuki!” Donnie slammed his bo staff on the lifeless body a few more times. 

He soon stopped hitting the Shredder with his bo staff and fell to his knees. He sobbed and covered his eyes again. 

“I hate you!” Donnie said to the unconscious Shredder again, now sobbing uncontrollably. “I hate you…” 

The three turtles, April, and Splinter now approached him cautiously, careful not to make a wrong move. 

April was the first to step forward. She crouched next to him and rested her hand on his shoulder. 

Donnie flinched a little but didn’t move completely. She wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled her cheek against his shoulder. 

Raph, Leo, and Mikey knelt in front of and next to their genius tech brother and also entrapped him in a hug. Splinter came up to his son and tenderly patted his arm while hanging his head low in solemness. 

Unbeknownst to them, Mizuki’s eyes fluttered a few times before they opened up fully. They were back to their violet colors rather than the green orbs that had taken over her vision. 

She stretched her arms and slowly pushed herself up by the elbows. 

She groaned and rubbed her head while supporting herself with her hand. She turned around and nearly lost the urge to hold back tears the moment she saw Donnie. 

“Donnie,” she whispered, then yelled louder. “Donnie!” 

He heard his name being called and his eyes went big on the brink of tears when he saw his lover alive and unharmed. 

She laughed and raised her hand to close to her mouth. A couple of tears were already leaving her eyes. 

“Mizuki...” Donnie said in a barely silent tone. 

He whooped and jumped off the rock, leaving his brothers, April and Splinter on the boulder. 

Mizuki ran across the concrete rubble while laughing in complete joy and sped towards her boyfriend. 

“Mizzy! I’m coming, my queen!” Donnie shouted in elation while bounding over a few rocks. 

The two teens finally reached one another, now laughing and beaming with tears and her hair now flowing out from the messy bun. Donnie lifted her by the waist and spun her around. 

She got close enough to reach his face, and they kissed passionately since the first battle with Shredder. 

“I thought I would never see you again,” Mizuki said, choked up. 

“I thought I had lost you,” Donnie replied. 

They beamed at one another before they leaned and had their foreheads touching each other. 

Raph, Leo, and Mikey both cackled with elation, the snapping turtle spinning his two brothers, father, and April around and setting them down to continue watching the scene. Hallie laughed and gasped, her tears already brimming in her eyelids. 

Momoka and Garrett appeared behind the broken rubble and saw their daughter alive and unharmed. 

“Mizuki!” Momoka cried elated. 

Mizuki heard her mother’s yell and gasped in delight. “Mama! Papa!” 

Donnie set her down and she instantly rushed towards her parents. The three humans were soon engulfed in a tight hug, laughing while their faces are stained with tears. 

“Oh, my child!” Garrett laughed, kissing her multiple times in the head. “My brave, brave child!” 

Jupiter and Hunter ran down the rubble of the area and nearly broke down to happiness when they saw Mizuki. 

“Oh, Mizuki!” Jupiter exclaimed ecstatically. 

Hunter whooped and pumped his arms up in the air. “You nailed that Shredder’s butt!” 

The other turtles, humans, and Splinter sped up to Mizuki and Donnie and entrapped them in a group hug. 

“We did it!” 

“We kicked Shredder’s butt!” 

“You were incredible back there, Mizuki!” 

“That was awesome!” 

“They will write scrolls about this one day,” Splinter remarked. 

“Oh, I’m sure they will,” a voice said. 

They turned around to find Big Mama in her human form with her hands behind her back. Soldiers in demon masks with spears in their hands stood in two lines on both sides. 

“Perfectly fasmagoric,” she stated. “You turtles and Mystic Warriors are not to be trifled with.” 

“One tamed, no longer phasing, scrap metal psycho ready for your disposal,” Leo slid up to her with a smug smirk. 

Mizuki stepped up to him while Donnie holding her to support her. “Are you sure we can trust her to keep Shredder from returning?” 

“Relax, girl. Everything’s all good,” Leo replied. 

“You did your part, so I will do mine,” Big Mama said. 

A figure appeared in front of the older woman and pulled out something. The figure is dressed up in a black cloak with a red-lined mask. 

They threw a skull-shaped object at the unmoving Shredder. The object opened up to reveal a portal, which picked up the Shredder with the hand-like lines. 

As soon as the Shredder was pulled through the portal, the skull-shaped object closed and flew back up to the sky, which transformed back to the normal starry atmosphere. The beach was also restored to its proper scenery. 

“Bam! Back into his prison dimension, never to be heard from again,” Raph stated. 

“Whoo! What an epic three days of nonstop fighting!” April whooped. 

Mizuki yawned tiredly and leaned her head on Donnie’s plastron and nuzzled her head against it. Donnie, whose face turned light red, smiled down at her. 

“I think we should go home now,” he said to the others. 

They all agreed and rubbed their eyes and yawned tiredly. 

Splinter hummed in agreement and opened the manhole. 

“I wish I could say it was a pleasure to see you again…” he told Big Mama. 

He leaned up to her with a smile. “My sassy sugar badger.” 

Big Mama gulped and blushed. 

The teens and adults, with Donnie carrying a now sleeping Mizuki, jumped through the manhole before Splinter closed it again. 

*****

For what seemed like a few days now, the teens and adults, all worn out from the big battle with Shredder, rested at the lair and fixed themselves up during that time. 

Jupiter, Momoka, and Garrett had both denied Splinter’s invitation to stay so they can revive their strength, but then decided to since he had told them, “We’ve all had a long day of battle with the Shredder. A day of rest and healing is our reward.” 

Donnie finished working on his Battle Shell and took a step back to examine it. He smiled with pride as he stared at the fixed back of the robo shell. 

He took a glance over his shoulder to notice Mizuki nuzzling the pillow in her sleep. 

A bandage was on her cheek, and her hands were wrapped in bandages as well. Her loose hair rested beside her back, a few strands stuck on her face. 

Jupiter had explained that she almost lost her powers and life while putting the collar on Shredder. When she was asked if she would ever gain her powers back, she’d replied, “Maybe one day.” 

He approached the bed and sat down next to her. Rubbing his thumb on her head, he smiled at her peaceful look. 

She’s really beautiful in the light from his bed, even on all levels…

Donnie stood back up and was about to head back to his desk. A hand gently grabbed his wrist, stopping him in his tracks. He turned around to find Mizuki, now awake and with a somewhat worried expression. 

He furrowed his eyebrows with concern. 

“Hey. You okay?” Donnie asked her softly. 

The lump in her throat finally freed itself, and she instantly wrapped her arms around his neck, taking him by surprise. Her forehead rested against his neck as she let the tears flow from her eyes. 

Donnie seemed hesitant before he entirely wrapped his arms around her body. His three-fingered hand stroked her loose hair and back tenderly. 

“Hey, hey,” he soothed her, her body shaking greatly. “I’m here. It’s okay...”

Mizuki sniffled and buried her head in his shoulder. 

“I saw us in the future,” she finally said, still hugging him. 

Donnie didn’t pull away from the embrace, yet he looked at her with a surprised, sympathetic look. 

“Possibly ten to fifteen years time,” she went on quietly. “We’d gotten married...you were beyond happy to be with me...and...we became parents...we’d had a little girl. It sounded strange how it would be possible…but she looked exactly like me, and has your skin…”

He thought about what she was telling him, still holding her in his arms. 

“And…we named her Akira because she would be bright and intelligent…like you. And you’d said that it’s a perfect name…”

Donnie had not said anything as she spoke. She could tell by the silence of her boyfriend, she knew he had not spoken for a moment. 

“I know this is not what you’d picture your future to be like. I understand,” she said. “But…I was afraid of what you say to me if I ever tell you this…” 

She was about to pull away, but Donnie still held her gently and sat down on the side of his bed. He sat her on his legs while stroking her hair. 

“Can’t believe I’m saying this, but…” he spoke softly, then sighed deeply. “I’d like to have a daughter named Akira.” 

Mizuki pulled away from his shoulder and glanced up at him with a surprised look. 

“I mean, imagine the things we can build together,” he chuckled lightheartedly. “Of course, I’d teach her how to be safe around tools whenever she uses them, and how to take care of herself when she goes out...”

“And imagine all the things she gets to experience the same way we did, only better than before,” Mizuki piped in, now smiling. 

“And let’s forget about the guys whose butts would be kicked if they rub her the wrong way,” Donnie went on. “If we give her non-lethal tips to defend herself.” 

Mizuki giggled for a moment before her smile fell and she glanced down at the ground again. 

“Hey. Is that what you’re really worried about?” He asked her again, lifting her chin for her to look at him. 

“I didn’t want to lose you when we first started fighting the Shredder,” she answered him. “I couldn’t imagine a future without you if I’d let you get killed by him.”

“I couldn’t imagine my life without you, either, if I’d lost you” Donnie replied. “And with or without your powers, no matter whatever happened, you’re still the same Mizuki I know and love with all my heart. And you will always be my Mystic Protector.” 

Mizuki beamed up at him with a few tears before she felt her lips connect with his own. 

New York City is saved for another day, her family and her friends are safe and living well. 

But most importantly, her soft-shell Ninja Turtle is here with her right now.


	56. 🍋Bonus Chapter (Mating Season) 🍋

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter contains lemons, which means smut and NSFW references. Do not read if you are of young age. If you are willing to risk it, I cannot stop you.
> 
> Just a warning ahead.
> 
> A/n: this is where I'm going to put in some smut. I have no shame or regrets!

“I don’t know what’s wrong with him, Mama,” Mizuki, in her outfit from her first encounter with Nova Cosmos, told her mother as she made her way down to the sewers. “He’s been acting strange these past few days, and Leo is, too. I just don’t get what’s up with them this time.”

“Well, I’ll try and talk to Jupiter about it,” Momoka said to her. “Hopefully, she knows what’s going on. In the meantime, you try and talk to Splinter about this whole ordeal, and let me know if you do.”

“Will do, Mama,” Mizuki nodded and closed the screen. 

She knew the current problem that she had spoken with her mother was true. 

Donnie’s been acting stranger than she remembered. He would be sweating heavily, his hands and legs would shake greatly whenever she’s near him, and his face would be as red as between a rose and tomato. 

The thing that made her realize it a day later was his eyes. They used to be lively and sassy, but now, they’re not the same the last time she saw them…

As soon as she entered the lair, she was met only with empty silence and a pile of books on the skating ramp. 

“Hello?” She called throughout the place. “Anybody? Hallie?” 

No answer, just her echoing calls. 

Hallie had told her she had made it to the lair before she did since she has seen Leo behaving rather differently like Donnie is. She should be meeting her here by now…

She sighed and continued her way to the ramp. 

Mizuki stopped when she saw a book laying on the floor. Curious, she picked up and noticed a page about something called...’mating season’.

“What in the world...?” 

As she was reading it, she failed to notice a shadow looming over her. 

She felt his presence and prepared herself to punch him, dropping the book in the process. 

She only stopped when she saw that it was Donnie. He was standing some good inches from her, but he wasn’t wearing his repaired Battle Shell he had fixed some time ago. 

“Oh, Donnie, thank God,” she sighed in relief. “You almost gave me a heart attack. You’ve been acting so weird for some time, I wanted to know if you’re alright...”

Donnie didn’t respond to her, he just...stared at her. 

Mizuki studied his face closer and tilted her head. His face was crimson red as blood, his eyes half-lidded and filled with...lust....

Her eyes went big when she instantly realized. “Donnie?” 

He still didn’t answer her but stepped towards her. Mizuki took a few steps back to escape from him, only for him to catch up with her and tenderly grab her by the waist. 

She gasped in fright as she found herself pressed against his plastron and her cheeks glowing bright red. 

Donnie leaned into her neck and sniffed her. “Your scent...really amazing...”

Mizuki made a noise of surprise, blushing even more, and turned her face away so he wouldn’t see her cheeks. 

He then pulled down her jacket and kissed her neck softly, licking at it and sucking it. She bit on her lips to keep a moan from escaping her throat. 

She held back a yelp when he bit, licked and sucked on the spot. She could feel his hand trailing down her side and gripping on her thigh. 

The blue-haired girl tried to push herself away from him, but his grasps on her were strong enough to hold her. His three-fingered hand then peacefully lifted her chin, and her lips were met with his own. 

She whimpered under the kiss, yet she didn’t dare move, fearing of making the wrong choice. 

Donnie then picked her up, forcing her to wrap her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, and continued to suck on and kiss her uncovered neck. They both made it to his room, and Donnie closed the door before locking it shut. 

‘Dammit,’ she cursed internally at her defeated escape. 

He then laid her down on his bed before climbing over her and pinning down her wrists with his hands. Her legs would have been kicking at him if they weren’t being held down by his own. 

“D-Donnie…” Mizuki whispered with terror. 

Her soft-shell boyfriend ignored her for a moment as he took off her jacket and threw it to the side. He then kissed her again, his tongue making its way in through her mouth. 

He took the opportunity of distracting her with his lips to pull down her tights and threw them to where he tossed the jacket. He went to unclip her bra from underneath her shirt, but Mizuki quickly stopped him with her free hand. 

“Donnie…please, talk to me,” she pleaded silently. 

Donnie stared at her with love and lust before he took her hand and placed it back with her pinned one. 

“…I just want to show how much I love you,” he answered her near her ear. “It’s all right, I’ll be gentle…” 

Mizuki gasped quietly at his words while he tied her hands together with her shirt-dress to keep them from moving. 

He then pulled down her underwear with ease and kissed and licked her neck again. She wanted to stay quiet, but it was getting harder to hold back the panting and moaning. 

He kissed her from her neck, down her stomach, all the way down to her core. She nearly yelped in surprise when she felt his tongue lick her flower. As he stuck her tongue inside her vaginal area, she prevented a moan of pleasure from building up. 

The blue-haired girl bit her tongue as not make any noise and closed her eyes tightly and did everything in her power to not throw her head back. 

Donnie then went back to her and kissed her on the lips again. 

She didn’t want to go through this...but then again, she wanted this to last forever...

Mizuki finally melted into the kiss and let him insert his tonight through her mouth. Donnie smirked underneath and rubbed her breast tenderly with his one hand while the other trailed down her bare thigh. 

His finger then entered into her, and she yelped underneath the kiss. 

“A-ah, Donnie...” she gasped. 

Donnie smirked as the last time and went faster until she finally felt something watery leaving from within her. 

Mizuki looked down, only to blush even redder when she saw Donnie’s member. She thought it was big like an eggplant. 

“Um, Donnie...?” She asked him fearfully. “W-will that fit?”

“Like I said, I’ll be gentle,” he promised her, whispering in her ear. “Plus, I bet I can do it in one thrust…” 

“What—“ she didn’t finish her sentence in time, for he instantly thrust his member in her without warning. 

She gasped and held back a scream of pain. 

“Oh, God. Why…?” She whimpered, trying to hide the agony. 

“It’ll feel better soon, love,” the soft-shell said to her softly as he began to thrust himself into her slowly. 

She kept on whimpering until her quiet whines changed to moans of pleasure. As soon as he knows that she wouldn’t be able to get away, Donnie untied her hands from her shirt and let them move freely. 

Mizuki, her mind no longer begging for a way out, roamed her hands over his shell as she kissed him. He kissed her back, yet he thrust himself into her gradually. He saw the tears leaving her eyes from the painful thrusts and wiped them from her cheeks before kissing her on the face. 

“O-oh, God. Donnie…” she moaned, gasping for air. 

Donnie pounded in her faster by the second, grunting with each move he made in her. 

“Oh, sh—I think I’m gonna—“ 

“I-I know…” 

Mizuki could feel her orgasm about to burst from within her, but she couldn’t let it go until he gave her the signal. 

Donnie went faster than before and groaned after every thrust he did. 

“Now!” He yelled. 

Mizuki finally let her orgasm burst free, and the white liquid coated her and Donnie’s bare bodies. He pulled out quickly, his member now covered in the white water. 

Donnie sighed, towering over his panting girlfriend, and laid his head on her shoulder. 

“Was that your mating season?” Mizuki asked through heavy breathing. 

“Yeah,” he nodded at her question. “Sorry I’ve been acting weird. I hope I didn’t worry you too much.” 

“Well, you really did, but I appreciate your concern.” 

Donnie chuckled and plopped down beside her. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to his plastron, and pulled a blanket over them. 

“I’m surprised you didn’t fight back eventually,” he stated. 

“Well, it’s probably my love for you that made me stay,” Mizuki replied. 

Donnie stared at her with his cheeks still blushing and his eyes wide with surprise before he smiled and chuckled. He kissed her on the forehead and let her nuzzle against his neck. 

“I love you, my little Emerald,” he said softly. 

“I love you, too.” 

*****

The next morning…

Her hair now dried off, Mizuki sat at the counter with a hot drink in her hands, one of Donnie’s shirt covering her slim body. 

“You too?” Hallie’s voice said from the entryway. 

She turned around, only to stifle her laughter when she saw Hallie wearing one of Leo’s shirts. Her hair was all tangled up in a mess and her neck covered in bite-shaped bruises. 

“Let me guess, Leo?” Mizuki theorized. 

“Yep,” Hallie nodded and took a cup from the cabinet. “Donnie?” 

“Mm-hmm,” Mizuki shook her head up and down and sipped her drink. “Seems you’ve had it harder like me.” 

“Oh, yeah? How so?” 

When Hallie turned around, she nearly cackled at the sight of her friend’s neck and collarbone covered in even more hickeys and bite marks. 

“Oh, oh, yeah,” the wavy-haired girl covered her mouth to keep the laughter from escaping her lips. 

“You’re darn right about that.”

Mizuki then felt arms wrap around her waist and smiled as her boyfriend nuzzled his face against her neck. 

“Morning, beautiful,” Donnie smirked, giving her butterfly kisses in the neck. 

“Please, not now, sweetie,” Mizuki said, even though she was giggling. 

Leo, who has his blue bandana around his neck, walked into the kitchen and gently grabbed Hallie by the waist. 

She yelped but then chuckled at his antics as she held onto the mug in her hands. “You almost scared me there.” 

“Coolax, I’m just razzing you, bae,” Leo teased her and nuzzled in her hair. 

“Now you guys are in a relationship?” Mizuki raised a playful eyebrow at them. “Does Jupiter know about it?” 

“Well, by the time they knew what’s wrong with us, it was already too late,” Hallie replied. 

“And Hallie apparently enjoyed it so much she couldn’t even stand on her legs,” Leo said, laughing. 

Donnie spit out his drink while laughing and Mizuki stifled her laughter again. 

Mizuki and Hallie looked at each other before they nodded after one another. They had managed to put themselves in the pill in case something like the boys’ mating season happened, so they weren’t too worried. 

“Alright, alright, you guys. Come on,” Hallie lightly slapped Leo on the back of his head. “Let’s just head back to our rooms.” 

Leo and Donnie looked at each other and smirked. Hallie tensed up when she saw the smug look and realized her mistake. 

“No, wait! No! That’s not what I meant! It’s not what I asked for!” Hallie denied, taking a few steps back. 

She then tried to run after setting the mug back on the counter, only for Leo to catch her and hoist her over his shoulders. He walked out of the kitchen with her laughing and hitting on his shell as she pleaded to be put down. 

“Wow, I feel pretty bad for her,” Mizuki remarked as she watched them leave. 

She tensed up when she felt Donnie wrap his arms around her again and blushed greatly. 

“Ready for Round 2?” He asked her in a flirty tone. 

Her cheeks grew more hot, a squeak of surprise leaving her lips.


	57. Todd Scouts

“Your enemies have you in their grasp,” Splinter said, with Mizuki standing beside him. “Now think. Your next move could be your last.” 

The four brothers struggled in a large finger trap above the two. They repeatedly grunted as they moved around. 

Splinter sighed in frustration. 

“You must think wisely as you make a plan,” Mizuki instructed the boys. “Do not make wrong moves.” 

Donnie grunted and freed his hand from the finger trap, reaching out to the sky. 

“Yes, yes, you’re getting it!” Splinter smiled proudly. 

Donnie grunted again as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone before typing in something. 

Splinter and Mizuki stared at him confused. 

“Um, Donnie? What are you doing?” The blue-haired teen asked him. 

“I am looking up how to get us out,” Donnie replied. 

“Oh-ho-ho! Great thinking, Donnie,” Raph said.

“No! That is not what ninjas do,” Splinter disagreed. 

“Got it!” Donnie said when he found the answer on his phone. “We just need to push forward to trigger the release.” 

Mizuki rolled her eyes in annoyance.

“And voila!” The turtles pushed forward and fell from the finger trap above. 

Donnie landed on top of the others with a victorious smirk. Splinter threw one of the books he had beside him at the purple-wearing turtle. 

“Ninjas need to be able to think their way out of a problem,” he lectured the guys. 

“We did with our phones,” Mikey added. 

“Well, what if you didn’t have your phones?” Mizuki asked them, her hand on her hip. “What if they just turned off on their own? If they stopped working?” 

“What’s the point of even living then?” Mikey wailed. 

Leo glared at her and Splinter while Raph and Donnie hugged the youngest turtle and glowered at them. 

The elder rat mutant and Mizuki looked at each other and smirked when they both had an idea. 

“Alright, then,” Mizuki said finally. “I guess there’s only one option.” 

“It’s off to the woods!” Splinter declared. 

The turtles stared at them perplexed. 

“The what?” Donnie asked. 

*****

A while later, Splinter and Mizuki stood in the center of the forest and gazed at the landscapes with calmness and wonder. 

Splinter inhaled the air and sighed. “Ahh. You hear that? That is the sound of no phones.” 

The silence was suddenly broken by phones bleeping. Splinter perked up and noticed the turtles on their phones. 

Mizuki facepalmed herself in the forehead. 

“Give me those!” He growled and quickly took their phones from them. 

However, Leo made a portal and took back their devices. Splinter jumped through the portal and knocked the turtles down. 

He then took their weapons and Donnie’s technology and dumped them in the Turtle Tank. 

“Here!” Mizuki called, tossing him her fans and phone. “If Jupiter or my parents call, can you tell them I’m out with the guys in the woods?” 

“Will do,” he answered her and caught her stuff with ease. 

He placed them with the other weapons and devices and slammed the Tank door shut. 

“You will come back better ninjas or not at all!” The elder mutant shouted through the driver’s window. 

He sped off, leaving the teens. 

“He’ll be back,” Raph said calmly. “Right?” 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Leo replied. “He’s gonna turn around right...”

The Tank disappeared over the hill just before he finished. 

“He’s gone.” 

“I need my phone, and my phone needs me!” Donnie exclaimed, panicking. “We can’t survive in the woods!” 

“Calm down, Donnie,” Mizuki comforted her boyfriend, patting on his shoulder. “You‘ll live without your devices. Which is why we have...” 

She then gestured to Todd, who is wearing a tan shirt, khakis, hiking boots, and a hat. He laughed and waved at the teens. 

“Todd?” The boys all said. 

“How’d you get here?” Raph asked. 

“We drove up together...in your tank, like, ten minutes ago,” Todd answered them. 

“He’s been with us the whole time you were on your phones,” Mizuki explained to the boys. “You guys don’t remember, don’t you?” 

“Uh...” the turtles, except Donnie, who was rocking back and forth, stammered. “No. Duh.” 

Mizuki sighed with frustration and shook her head. 

“Welcome to Todd Scouts, where fun meets wilderness survival skills,” Todd announced happily. 

“Todd here is going to teach you how to survive in the woods while helping you learn to become better ninjas. Without your phones,” the braided-haired girl explained to the guys. 

“I don’t think I’m gonna make it,” Donnie said to himself. 

“Guys, if we run, we can still catch Splinter,” Leo said. 

He, Donnie and Mikey ran off past Todd and Mizuki, but the three ended up caught in rope traps and hung from above the branches.

“You can’t outrun those traps if you’re not too careful,” Mizuki called up to them, smiling smugly. 

“That is a triple snare knot, a Todd Trap,” Todd told them. “Knots are how you make two ropes into friends.” 

He chomped off the rope, and the three turtles fell back to the earth. 

“Now let’s get to learning,” Todd said. “Survival lesson one: food.” 

“Now, we have none,” Mizuki said. “So what are the best things to eat when we’re in the woods?” 

Raph picked up a rock and opened his mouth. 

“Nope.” 

Donnie picked up a stick from the ground, looking devastated. 

“Wrong.” 

Leo grabbed Donnie and seemed like he was about to eat him. 

“No, Leo,” Mizuki sighed, agitated. 

Mikey tip-toed towards a berry bush, but Todd stopped him. 

“Stop! Never eat those! You hear me?! Those are no-no berries!” 

“Don’t forget,” he laughed and patted him on the head. 

“Lesson two: shelter. When looking for the perfect shelter, make sure it has protection from elements and a water source for drinking,” Todd instructed the guys. 

Donnie was sliding away while still looking bored and sad. 

Mizuki picked up a stick, shaped like a spear, and leaped up from the ledge of the lake. She threw the spear-stick at the water, and the sound of something being caught rippled from underneath the lake. 

She picked it up and smirked victoriously as she saw she caught three fish. 

“Lesson three: fire,” Todd said, placing the three fish over a fire. “Nature’s stove.” 

“Lesson four: ‘Where am I?!’ Is what you might say if you’re lost,” he said next. “A Todd Scout navigates by the sun.” 

“When are they gonna teach us how to survive boredom?” Leo groaned. 

“Psst, up here,” Donnie said from a branch. 

The three turtles turned around and saw Donnie, who is wearing the wooded versions of his goggles and devices. 

“I got something to show you, but you gotta ditch Todd,” he whispered to them. 

“We can’t. Once he and Mizuki get through all this boring stuff, they’re bound to get to the good stuff,” Raph replied. 

“Okay, now you guys are in for a treat,” Todd said. 

“See?” Raph smiled. 

“Wild animal calls!” Todd then made different creature sounds. 

Mizuki tried everything she can to hold back her laughter. 

She stopped when she saw something move from behind the bushes before disappearing. She glanced around to see if the guys and Todd have noticed her walking away and started after whatever was behind the bushes. 

‘Probably a bad idea, but screw this,’ she thought. 

She eventually came across a camping site of some sort. Various people in dentist outfits walked around the site with tools that looked like something a teeth doctor would use. 

“Hold on…” 

Mizuki noticed a tent with the opening cracked open and narrowed her eyes in suspicion. After knowing that no one had seen her, she hastily ran towards the tent and snuck inside. 

She gasped upon seeing a few trophies of teeth from different animals on a desk. 

Her eyes then landed on an empty plate with the words ‘Sasquatch’ and went wide with terror. 

“Oh…my…God!” She said quietly, backing away. 

However, she instantly got knocked out from behind, and darkness came over her vision unwillingly. 

*****

Mizuki groaned, shaking her head, and failed to move her hands…since they were bonded together in rope. 

“Oh, come on!” She grunted and tried her feet as well, only for them to be trapped in flossing rope as well. 

She then noticed herself tied to a chair in the main camping tent with dentist tools lying around. She heard groaning and gasped upon seeing Todd being strapped to a chair by two other dentists. 

“Oh, no! Todd!” She cried silently. 

“I see our little trespasser is awake,” a male voice said. 

Mizuki saw a man with a clean-shaved head. He has yellow glasses in front of his crazed eyes and a belt with canisters over his chest. 

“Alright, you punks! What kind of doctors are you?!” She demanded. 

“Oh-ho, my dear. We’re dentists who have a particular interest in collecting rare and exotic teeth…” 

“And we’ve got you now, Sasquatch!” He then turned to Todd while laughing crazily. 

Mizuki remembered the plate and the words on the wall back in the office tent and her heart dropped to her stomach. 

“Are we sure this is a Sasquatch, Doctor?” One of the assistant dentists asked. 

He was holding a photo of a naked man running around in the forest while eyeing Todd skeptically. “He’s pretty small.” 

“Oh, who cares?” The main dentist took the photo and threw it to the side. “His central incisors will look amazing on my trophy wall.” 

Mizuki gasped before struggling even more against the flossing ropes. “I command you let him go right now!” 

“Oh, just gag her. She’s starting to bug me,” the main dentist told one of the assistants.

They nodded and wrapped a cloth over her mouth. Mizuki soon only muffled shouts and angry words at the hunters. 

“You guys seem like really good friends,” Todd said, his voice slurred. “I want you to cherish that. I had friends once, but I…”

He sniffled and went on. “I bored ‘em away. Do what you want with me!” 

“Okay, enough,” the main dentist sighed annoyed. “This squatch is really bumming me out.” 

“Painfully ripping his tooth from the root will cheer you up, Doctor,” one of the assistants handed him a tool. 

The Doctor sighed with content. “You know me so well.” 

Mizuki cried through the gag and fought against the ropes more. 

She couldn’t let them do this to Todd. She just had to find a way to save him…

“Suction!” The Doctor said.

The two assistants prepared Todd’s mouth for the operation, and the Doctor gripped Todd’s tooth with the tool. 

Mizuki closed her eyes tightly and turned away from the intense moment. 

Something lit up from outside the working area. The Doctor gasped from the sudden light. 

“Oh, the Nature Force found us,” he growled. “Cavity stations, men. Floss the perimeter!” 

The three men grabbed the tools and dentist-like weapons and stepped outside the tent, leaving Mizuki and Todd alone. 

“I’ll go left. You go right,” the Doctor ordered. “Come back with a bicuspid or don’t come back at all.” 

As soon as she knows they’re gone, Mizuki searched something to free herself from the ropes and save Todd. When she found none, she tried fighting the ropes off of her, with no avail. Her wrists were starting to hurt, yet she didn’t stop fighting. 

That’s when she saw four heads through the door and gasped, her eyes lighting up. She let out muffled cries to try and catch their attention. 

The turtles zoomed in through the entrance and hid behind the objects in the room. 

“Clear over here,” Leo whispered. 

“Clear.” 

“0% opaque.” 

They rolled over to Todd and Mizuki with stealth into the light, letting the blue-haired girl see them better. The guys are dressed up in the similar outfit like Todd is, only Raph’s was ripped. 

“Oh, Mizzy,” Donnie sighed with relief. 

He kissed her on the head and ungagged her before beginning to untie her from the chair. “Did they hurt you?” 

“No, not in the slightest,” she shook her head. 

“Todd, are you okay?” Leo asked Todd worriedly as they freed him from the bonds. “Oh, you look terrible.” 

“No, I’m fine,” the capybara mutant sniffled and turned away from them. “Just—just go, take Mizuki and leave me.” 

“Todd, I’m really sorry my brothers said those terrible things about you, and again, it was just them not me,” Donnie told him. 

“You guys did what?!” Mizuki half-yelled, glaring at them. 

They quickly shushed her in response. 

“Why don’t we leave the apologies to the pro?” Leo shoved Donnie to the side and solemnly looked at Todd. “Todd, you’re our friend, and we should never have been such jerks to you. We’re really, really sor—“ 

Todd quickly hugged him before he could even finish. “Apology accepted! You really are good at that. Wow!” 

“Um, guys, I hate to break the tender moment, but we’ve got to get going now,” Mizuki quickly stated. “Those dentists guys are gonna come back any minute now, and—“ 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down. What dentist guys?” Raph asked her. 

A car broke through the back door of the tent and sent the teens and Todd flying to the wall. 

“Surprise!” The Doctor exclaimed and ripped off his shirt, revealing his abs. “Tooth Fairies—ah! Get me that squatch.” 

“Those dentist guys!” Mizuki shouted, pointing at them. 

“Run!” Leo yelled. 

The teens and Todd all ran out of the camping site and screamed, with the capybara mutant on Raph’s shoulder. The Doctor and assistants driving the car soon chased them while shooting darts at them. 

“Those big, beautiful buckteeth trophies are mine!” The Doctor laughed maniacally and shot more darts at the teens. 

Raph was shot in the arms, dropping Todd, who now ran beside the guys, and Donnie got hit in the thighs, leaving Mizuki to carry him on her back. 

The soft-shell turtle blushed when she picked him up with ease. 

Soon, Mikey, who was hit on the feet, and Leo, whose face sagged from the darts, fell behind the others. 

“Firing numbing darts,” Mizuki realized. “Should have seen that coming.” 

“Leave us, Todd! Save yourself!” Leo cried, his speech slurred. 

Todd grabbed Mikey and Leo before catching Raph and placed them on his head and ran alongside Mizuki. “A Todd Scout never leaves a fellow Todd behind!” 

The teens and Todd rushed through the entrance of a cave, the Doctor and the assistants passing by them, luckily. 

Todd sighed with solemness and walked towards the center of the cavern. 

Donnie leaned his head against Mizuki’s shoulder, and she did the same on his own. 

“Don’t worry about us, Todd,” Raph reassured the capybara mutant. “We’ve got shelter and food and—“ 

“And I’ve got this canteen of Todd’s Lemonade Especial for drinking,” Mikey laid on Raph’s legs as he held a canteen bottle of Todd’s lemonade. 

“Wait. My lemonade?” Todd lit up and took the canteen. “Bingo!” 

“Stand back! This is gonna get wild!” He opened the top and drunk the lemonade from the canteen.

He gulped it all down and his eyes changed to light blue as lighting began to surround him. 

The teens stared at him wide-eyed, with Donnie shielding Mizuki with his body from the lights. 

“Lemon rush!” Todd growled and ripped off his shirt. 

A force resonated from the cavern and across the wilderness. 

In a blink of an eye, every creature in the forest came out from the branches and ambushed the Doctor and his assistants. 

Todd hovered in the air and growled, his hair formed like an anime action hero. 

“Lemon rush!” He yelled. 

“The true power of the Sasquatch,” the Doctor gasped. 

He kicked away every creature at came at him before he sped away with his assistants now lost to the horde. 

“Todd’s magnificent,” Raph said, his eyes sparkling with stars as well as the others’. 

Todd rode on the back of a deer and sighed, falling off. Raph and Mizuki caught him in time and sighed with relief. 

“Thanks, guys,” Todd acknowledged them, tears leaving his eyes. “Well, I’m sure you guys wanna get back to your phones so you don’t have to pretend to be Todd Scouts anymore.”

“Pretend? Who’s pretending?” Donnie asked. 

The turtles then entrapped Todd and Mizuki in a bear hug. 

“Yeah, I wanna learn how to cut rope with my teeth,” Raph added. 

Mizuki giggled at their newfound enthusiasm. 

‘Splinter’s going to love this when he comes back to pick us up,’ she thought.


	58. Goyles, Goyles, Goyles (Donnie and Mizuki version

“Huh, what a way to end that fight with Hypno and…that worm guy,” Donnie remarked and winced when Mizuki tightened the bandage on his arm. 

“If you hadn’t put yourself in unpredictable danger, then this wouldn’t hurt so much,” she stated while smirking playfully at him. 

“Heh, yeah. What am I thinking?” He chuckled. 

She smiled at him before turning her focus back on fixing up his arm. 

Earlier, the turtles and Mizuki had been caught up in a battle with Hypnopotamus and Warren Stone, who were caught robbing some food bank down in Times Square. When Hypno had sent a flaming grill out towards Mizuki while she was distracted getting a family to safety, Donnie had leaped in the way in time and shielded her from the hit. His arm was only hit, apart from his Battle Shell protecting them. 

Right now, he is getting patched up by Mizuki, who only had a bandage across her cheek. His Battle Shell rested against his bed, his own shell now bare and seen to the others. 

“So, uh, remember when we first met?” Donnie asked, breaking the silence. 

“You mean when I was trying to get the vial from Mayhem that night?” Mizuki implied and tied the end of the bandage in a bow. 

“I mean, like that first battle with Draxum, after we saved you and Mayhem,” Donnie corrected. 

She nodded, now understanding the question. “Yeah, I believe I do.”

“We were on our way back to the lair, and you were getting close to unconsciousness...” Donnie began. 

*****

As the morning sun rose over the horizon, the turtles and Mizuki both made their way back to the lair. April had already made it home with Mayhem, ready to explain the occurrence to her mother. 

Donnie noticed Mizuki, who is using his tech bo as a crutch for her injured leg, stumbling around a bit and furrowed his eyebrows with worry. 

“You okay? You seemed dizzy,” he asked her. 

“I’m fine,” she answered, hiding the exhaustion in her voice. “I just...had a rough day from fighting, that’s all.”

Donnie studied her face for a moment before he nodded and continued walking alongside his brothers. 

Mizuki was unprepared when he quickly yet tenderly picked her bridal style a second later and yelped in surprise. He took the tech bo back before it could hit the floor and carried the two in his arms. 

Her cheeks turned pure red and glanced down at the ground to avoid Donnie’s gaze. 

“You sure Dad won’t freak out about her being here?” Leo asked. 

“We can explain everything to him if he doesn’t get mad at us,” Raph replied. 

“Your father?” Mizuki implied. “He’s a turtle like you all?” 

“Eh, more like a rat than a turtle,” Donnie replied to her. “Long story, we’ll explain later.” 

She nodded with understanding at his statement. However, she felt her eyelids becoming heavy, her energy leaving her by the second. 

The web that was shot on her leg must have sent its shock around her, letting her power being drained before Draxum’s lab was destroyed.

Donnie had seen her about to succumb to sleep, for he adjusted her closer to him and called out for his brothers to get back to the lair as fast as possible. 

“We’re almost there, Mizuki. Just hang tight,” he told her. 

Even though she wanted to, it was getting harder to stay awake after a long day of battle and being held captive. 

Soon, her eyes closed against her will, and she fell into the darkness...

*****

When she opened her eyes, there was a faint purple light from some sides of the unfamiliar room. 

Mizuki groaned and moved her head around for a moment. A familiar green head with a purple bandana smiled down at her relieved. 

She grunted as she sat up on the table, but Donnie and Mikey both held her by the shoulders gently. 

“Whoa, hey. Easy,” Donnie told her. “You were knocked out for three hours.”

“...Donatello,” Mizuki laid back down on the pillows that were cradling her head. “Where are we?” 

“We’re at our lair, our home,” Donnie replied to her. 

“Your lair?” She asked, earning a nod from him. 

“You okay? You hungry or anything?” Mikey asked her. 

Mizuki was interrupted by her stomach rumbling. She blushed sheepishly and tried to look anywhere but the two brothers. 

“Sounds like a yes. I’ll be right back,” Mikey replied before jogging out of Donnie’s lab. 

The blue-haired girl scanned the area with astonishment and interest. The lighting was purple, which left the numerous devices and contraptions with violet values.

“Did you make all these?” She stared at them astounded. 

“Yep,” Donnie beamed proudly and opened his cabinet to reveal his different types of robo shells. “And I’m also the proud owner of the robo shells that are standing before your very eyes.” 

Mizuki then studied the items on his desk. “And I see that you’re a purple lover.” 

“Oh, you know me so well,” Donnie replied, still smiling. 

When she looked down at her leg, she noticed that there is a bandage wrapped around it. She trailed her hands against the fabric, the blood that is now dried up not staining her fingers. 

“Um...” she cleared her throat again, her cheeks light red. “I wanted to thank you again...for saving my life...”

Donnie blushed and beamed at her.”Uh, it’s no problem, really...I mean, it’s what we do, right? We keep each other safe, y’know?”

“How long have you all lived down here?” She asked next. 

“For as long as we can remember. Maybe since we were kids,” Donnie shrugged. “We couldn’t outside as much as we wanted to.”

“Why is that?” She asked next. “I don’t want to push you, but having to live underground as a mutant must be hard.” 

“Yeah, you’re not wrong,” he agreed. “I mean, if a human sees us in broad daylight, I’d imagine they would freak out and try to run us off with some pitchforks.” 

“I can understand where you’re going there,” Mizuki replied. 

Mikey came in Donnie’s lab with a box of pizza in hand. “Ha-cha! One box of piping hot pizza is on the house!” 

He set it down on the desk and took a slice with ease. 

“Would the young lady like a slice?” Mikey held the box up to her. 

Mizuki smiled and picked up a slice. “Thank you…” 

“So…where’d you come from?” Donnie asked, eating a slice. 

Mizuki opened her mouth before she closed it, hesitant. 

Even if she wanted to tell them, it could put the Rebellion and New York at risk. 

“Hey, it’s alright if you don’t wanna tell us,” Donnie told her. “You can some other time, if you want.” 

Mizuki beamed at him gratefully. 

“And what about your parents?” Mikey asked her next. 

Her smile then faltered upon the mention of her parents. She looked down at the ground to avoid letting the two see her. 

“Oh. You don’t have any?” 

“I…I barely knew them,” she corrected him. “They were gone since I was around 3 years old, at a young age.” 

“Aww,” Mikey said, his eyes filled with sympathy. 

“Wow,” Donnie remarked. “You mean, you don’t know who your parents are?” 

“Well, I’ve spoken with my guardian,” Mizuki explained. “She’d told me to wait until the right time so she could tell me. All I got was this…” 

She then pulled out her locket from her neck and stared at it. “She’d explained to me that this belonged to my mother before she handed it to me as a baby.” 

Donnie and Mikey both slid up next to her and studied the locket. 

The letter ‘M’ shone in the light while she moved it slightly. 

“Wow,” Mikey gasped. “It’s beautiful.” 

“Well, you know, I…” As Donnie turned to face her, he noticed that his nose was close to hers. 

He blushed intensely as well as Mizuki and cleared his throat. “It’s beautiful.” 

Mizuki nodded in agreement and placed her locket back around her neck.

“We’ve also got our favorite things. You’ve seen my tech shells and my other techs,” Donnie continues. “Raph’s got a stuffed animal collection, Leo has a Jupiter Jim poster, and Mikey, he has this box of pizza.” 

“It’s true,” Mikey agreed, a slice of pizza in his mouth. 

“And I suppose no one else knows about your existence, apart from April?” Mizuki asked next. 

“Yeah, we met when we were little,” Donnie answered her. “She didn’t mind that we are mutant turtles, so she was cool with us.” 

“I see. And where’s Raphael and Leonardo?” She implied. 

“Well, right now, they’re probably explaining to Dad about you being here right now,” Mikey answered, scratching the back of his neck. 

“Don’t jinx yourself in situations like this, Orange,” Splinter’s voice called from behind them. 

The two turtles yelped in fright and jumped up on the table, while Mizuki flinched and noticed the owner of the voice. 

“And I suppose this is the new friend Red and Blue has spoken to me about?” Splinter studied the girl. 

“Um, y-yeah,” Mikey chuckled nervously. 

“You must be the turtles’ father?” Mizuki assumed. 

“Of course,” Splinter nodded at her. “I’m surprised Purple has found someone he’d grew quite fond of in the future.” 

Donnie gulped and blushed. 

“With all due respect, sir, Donatello and I just met for only a day now,” Mizuki politely told him. 

“Oh? Then I don’t suppose that he’s been checking over you during the time you were unconscious?” Splinter raised a playful smirk at his soft-shell son. 

“Okay! I guess it’s time for her to get going now!” Donnie laughed nervously, his face completely red, and helped Mizuki off the table. 

“But you haven’t given me the tour yet?”

“Maybe another day, all right? Gotta go drop her off at her place! I’ll be back soon!” Donnie quickly said as he scooped her up and rushed out of the lab. 

“Be careful out there, Purple!” Splinter called after him. 

“Will do!” Donnie yelled back over his shoulder. 

*****

As soon as he knows that he’s back at the apartment where Mizuki is residing in for the time being, he let out a sigh of relief and placed her on the bed. 

“I’m so sorry about my Pops,” he rubbed the bridge of his snout. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him…” 

“It’s alright, Donnie. I don’t mind him,” Mizuki smiled at him reassuringly. “He seems like a good father to you and your brothers.” 

“Yeah, he kinda is,” Donnie agreed, before changing the subject as last time. “Anyways, um, about that tour of the lair, if you’re free tomorrow, or on another day…” 

“I’m free tomorrow.” 

“That’s fine. I understand you’re busy, and—“ Donnie paused. 

“Wait, what?” He whipped around to face her. 

“What time should I come over? Or would you prefer to pick me up?” She asked him with a smile. 

“Uh, well, um, I could come by and get you at, maybe, 10 in the morning, ‘cause that’s one of the times we don’t head out of the lair,” he stuttered while blushing. 

Mizuki giggled at his flustered state. “I’d love that.” 

Donnie smiled at her before pulling out a med-kit. “Now, um, let’s work on those wounds.” 

Mizuki smiled back at him. 

For a while now, Donnie and Mizuki hung out in her apartment room, even after he had healed up her injuries from the first battle with Draxum. 

During that time, even when he returned to the lair bidding his farewell for the night to Mizuki, Donnie couldn’t get that sincere smile of the blue-haired girl off of his mind. 

*****

“You were blushing the whole time you were fixing up my wounds,” Mizuki chuckled as she remembered the first hangout between her and Donnie. 

“Yeah, well, I still am while you were doing mine,” Donnie answered. 

She looked up at him and, truth be told, his cheeks were red as a rose. 

“What are you looking at?” She raised a playful eyebrow. 

“The most beautiful girl who is still gorgeous on all levels,” he answered. 

She paused before she grinned at him again. They leaned in close to each other and their lips connected. 

“Aww, that’s so adorable,” Leo teased his soft-shell brother as he leaned against the doorway. 

“Leo, shut up!” Donnie shouted, his cheeks now red as a tomato. 

Mizuki barely lost the urge to laugh and covered her mouth.


	59. Flushed but Never Forgotten

Mikey’s scream from his room prompted Mizuki, clad in her PJs, to rush over to the youngest turtle’s room after quietly making sure her boyfriend is still sleeping. 

However, when she got there, she only saw Mikey, who is wearing an orange PJ shirt and pants, stammering as he saw an empty wall next to his hammock. Leo stretched his arms up and scratched his butt. 

“Why am I not getting my beauty Z’s right now?” He asked, dressed in blue-striped PJs. 

“It was right here,” Mikey insisted. “I—I swear. It said, ‘You flush me, I flush you’.”

“Mikey, calm down,” Mizuki stepped to Mikey. “What are you trying to say?” 

“She’s back, and—and—and she’s mad at us!” Mikey turned around as he cried. 

“She?” Leo asked, his eyes narrowing at him. “I know you’re talking about the thing we talked about never talking about.” 

“Wait, what?” Mizuki glanced at between the brothers. 

“It’s Pie—“ Mikey began, only to be cut off when Leo covered his mouth. 

“Not here,” he grabbed Mizuki and Mikey and led them away. 

*****

Thunder boomed from above as the night sky forced rain to pour down on the turtles and Mizuki. They stood on an apartment building while Mikey recounted the event that had happened back in his room. 

“You gotta believe me!” Mikey pleaded with his brothers. “Piebald’s back! She’s after us because we flushed her!” 

“Relax. I’m not a scientist, but this is 100% just your guilt glands secreting guilt-zymes into your central guilt-us system,” Raph, who has a brace-head around his head and is dressed in a red onesie, said to him. 

“Raph is right. He is not a scientist,” Donnie, clad in a purple shirt and PJ pants, agreed. “But separately, he’s also right that this Piebald jazz is in your head.” 

“No, it’s not. We have to tell Dad the truth,” Mikey begged. 

“I’m afraid I agree with Mikey on this,” Mizuki added. “In my opinion, telling the truth is better than keeping it all in for too long.” 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. We’re not telling Dad anything,” Leo refused, pushing them aside. “Look, we all miss her, but a year ago, we stood on this roof and decided—“ 

“You decided!” Mikey interjected. 

“We decided to replace Piebald with an identical goldfish so Dad’s heart wouldn’t be broken,” Leo finished. “He wins, we win, and Piebald wins.” 

“Piebald got flushed!” Mikey yelled. 

“Uh, if I may—“ Donnie and Raph both shoved him down. “Leo’s idea about the whole thing not getting into trouble thing—very convincing.” 

“I second that,” Raph agreed. 

“Looks like everyone agrees with me that we renew our pact of secrecy and never tell Dad the truth. One, two, three, let’s go,” Leo held his hand out. 

“Yada, yada, yada, eternal silence,” Raph rambled as he placed his hand out with Donnie, who forced Mizuki’s hand with the others, as well as Mikey’s. 

“Back to the lair, boys and girl!” 

Mizuki stopped when she felt someone watching her. When she turned around, though, no one seems to be there. 

She hummed confused and followed behind the others. 

*****

“I mean, I know we shouldn’t do it, but we have to,” Mizuki mumbled to herself. “Telling the truth and enduring the consequences is better than having to live a lie…” 

She walked around the skating area, with the others already brushing their teeth. 

“Sure, you could be in trouble for not telling the truth sooner, but it’s better to do it than lying forever…” 

She was suddenly cut off when Mikey screamed and ran out of the living area. 

“Mikey?” 

“Don’t flush me!” Mikey yelled. 

He accidentally ran into her and they both fell to the floor yelping. The three others winced at the impact. 

“Mikey, what happened?” Mizuki asked him worriedly. 

“It’s Piebald! She’s after me!” He replied and hugged her. 

“Forget that name! Does the pact of secrecy mean nothing to you?” Leo glared at him. 

“Bros, I saw we lock Mikey up till morning,” he turned to Raph and Donnie. 

“What?!” Mikey screeched. 

“No!” Mizuki disagreed. 

“Yes,” Donnie answered. 

“Yeah,” Raph nodded. 

“Genius idea, Leo,” a female voice said behind them. 

“Fantastic. The graffiti wall agrees,” Leo beamed. 

Mizuki’s eyes went big and she breathed heavily as she pointed at something behind the three turtles. Mikey whimpered and held onto her. 

A red-and-tan goldfish instantly appeared, wearing a dark cloak, and smiled crazily at the teens. 

“Hey, guys, it’s me, Piebald!” She greeted them a bit too friendly-like. “Remember? We used to be friends.” 

“But now I wanna flush you!” She growled and pointed a large hook at them. 

The turtles and Mizuki, apart from Leo, screamed and ran off. 

“Okay, so she’s a mutant,” Leo calmly said. 

He was grabbed by Raph, and the teens shrieked and stammered as they sped away. 

*****

The turtles and Mizuki hid in the kitchen, the youngest turtle on the floor and hugging himself. 

“I don’t know what’s more unsettling, the giant goldfish or the possibility that Mikey may be right,” Donnie stated, hugging Mizuki protectively. 

“And did you see her camouflage power? Class A,” Leo commented. 

“She’s after us because we flushed her and covered it up,” Mikey popped up, shaking with terror. “Guys, we have to tell Dad the truth.” 

“No way!” Leo shoved him back down. “The only responsible thing is to get rid of her before Dad finds out and go back to pretending this never happened.” 

“Solid solution,” Raph agreed. 

“Hello, fish food!” Splinter placed a fishbowl on the table. 

The teens all screamed with fright. 

“What? Just grabbing a late-night snack for my sweet, precious Piebald,” he said as he placed fish food in the fishbowl. 

The turtles and Mizuki glanced down at a rock with googly eyes staring right back at them. 

“Say, why do you look like you have something to confess?” He asked them. 

The turtles and Mizuki gasped and quickly went on their own business. Mikey gasped when he saw he’s on his own now. 

He stared at the rock in the fishbowl and sweated nervously. 

“Don’t you rat us out to the rat,” Leo warned him quietly. 

“You don’t have to be brave, Mikey,” Mizuki whispered to him. “Just tell him the truth.”

“Dad, the truth is—“ Mikey started. 

“Hm?” Splinter stopped placing the food in the fishbowl. 

The box turtle whimpered as he tried to choose between the truth and coming up with another lie. “We—I, uh—we—I—“

“Snitches get stitches,” Leo held a frying pan up in the air. 

Mizuki quickly jumped in and grabbed his arms from moving any further. 

The sound of a fart stopped Mikey from telling the truth. 

“I tooted,” he lied. 

Leo lowered the frying pan, and Mizuki facepalmed herself. 

“Ugh,” Splinter sighed, putting the fish food in the bowl, and walked away with it. “Back to bedy-bye, Piebald.” 

After Splinter was gone, the others could breathe again. 

“Phew! What to throw Dad off the scent,” Leo threw his arms around Mikey, but sniffed and shoved him away. “Oh, you weren’t joking.” 

“It’s alright. We’ll find another way,” Mizuki reassured him. 

“Okay, let’s suit up, stat!” Raph ordered. 

“Yeah!” 

“Huh!” Donnie and Leo saluted. 

They both grabbed utensils and pots for protection. Mizuki stared at them unamused. 

“You know, I cannot tell if you’re being smart or just plain dumb,” she remarked at them. 

Bubbling came from the other side of the kitchen, and the teens formed a circle. 

“She could be behind us or in front of us,” Raph said. “The only thing we know for sure is she’s not right here.” 

“Agreed. And Mikey, you did the right thing not telling Dad. In the end, a lifetime of guilt and regret will its own reward,” Donnie told Mikey. 

Leo laughed at his statement. “Well said done, Donnie.” 

“You’re not off the hook yet!” Piebald said in a singsong tone. 

The three teens yelped and spun around to find her gone, as well as Raph and Donnie. 

“Wait, where’s Raph and Donnie?” Mizuki asked uncertainly. 

A little bubble hovered towards the three gradually. It stopped when it came up in front of them and popped, revealing the mutant goldfish. 

“Boo!” 

The two turtles and Mizuki screamed before breaking away for the exit. 

“Flee!” Leo cried. 

“Oh, me gosh!” 

They made it to the garage and locked themselves in the Turtle Tank. They turned on the front lights and breathed heavily. 

“We have to go back for the others! Or are you willing to replace them, too?!” Mizuki exclaimed. 

“Guy—eeh—“ Leo stopped as he was about to glue googly eyes to a rock. 

“When will the lies end?!” Mikey yelled. 

“I don’t lie, I just change the truth,” Leo denied and grabbed Mikey by the front of his shirt. “And you will keep your mouth shut.” 

“Knock it off, you guys! Okay?!” Mizuki stepped between them and broke them apart before glaring at Leo. “We’re stuck here and Raph and Donnie are gone because you refused to tell the truth to your father about the mutant goldfish! So, you’re gonna go out there, find Splinter, and tell him the real reason what happened to Piebald, or I’m gonna shove your head in the—“

Banging from outside the Tank interrupted her. 

The three teens stopped and saw the door lock unlock. They whimpered and stood there. 

Metal screeched from outside as something made contact with the design. 

“Who—who’s there?” Leo asked. “Donnie? Santa?” 

The metal screeched continued, but no one seemed to answer. 

The three whimpered again, waiting for something hopefully good to happen. 

“Buddies!” 

They all screamed, but then stopped when they saw Frankenfoot waving at them from outside the Tank. 

“Wait,” Mikey said. 

“Buddies!” 

“Frankenfoot! Get in!” Mizuki grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him in the Tank. 

“There’s a mutant goldfish out there!” Mikey told him. 

A hook instantly appeared and caught Frankenfoot, dragging him away. 

“Buddies!” He cried before he was gone. 

“Whoa!” Mikey gasped and popped into his shell with terror. 

“Out the floor hatch, fast!” Leo yelled. 

Mizuki caught him and fell through the floor hatch in a flash, with Leo behind her. 

“Caught ya, confetti boy!” Piebald laughed maniacally. 

The two turtles and Mizuki gasped upon seeing the supposed remains of Frankenfoot from underneath the Tank. 

“Oh, no!” 

“No, no!” 

Mizuki gasped and crawled away with the other turtles. 

“Ninja crawl-jitsu!” Leo said. 

They both made it out from underneath the Tank before Mikey was grabbed by Piebald’s hook and pulled away. Mizuki cried and reached out to him. 

“Leo! Mizzy!” Mikey screamed before he unwillingly disappeared to the darkness. 

“Mikey!” Leo cried. 

“Oh, my God! She’s fast!” Mizuki stated fearfully. 

“Not as fast as me!” He replied and ran off towards Splinter’s room. 

The blue-haired girl glanced around hastily for any sign of the mutant goldfish before she darted behind him in his tracks. 

“Daddy!” Leo shouted, breaking down the bedroom door. 

He stopped in his tracks when he found Splinter being carried by an invisible force. The red-eared slider turtle yelled and tried to run away again, but something caught him by the ankle and pulled him backward. 

Mizuki sped down the hallway leading to Splinter’s room. She skidded to a halt and found Leo and Splinter being held hostage by Piebald. 

“The flushing is nigh!” The fish mutant laughed maniacally and disappeared in a blink of an eye. 

Mizuki gasped in fright until she saw a trail of bubbles from the fish mutant. 

She peeked around the corner and noticed the trail leading to somewhere. 

“Okay, just stay calm and brave. Your boyfriend and his family need you,” she mumbled. 

She followed the trail of bubbles down the sewer lines until she saw a light coming from the bridge where she and the others were looking for Raph back in their day off. 

“Hold on, guys. I’m coming,” she muttered, then groaned in frustration. “But why do I have to be the one to save the day when Leo’s responsible for not telling the truth?” 

She gasped in terror when she peeked around the corner. 

The turtles and Splinter, who has a gag over his mouth, hung over the broken bridge and a whirlpool. They screamed while they are trapped in a trapbag. 

“Once I find the purplefin’s love, it’s flushing time,” Piebald held her hook close to the turtles’ faces. 

Donnie swore he can feel his heart beating faster when she mentioned Mizuki. 

“You know what a scream sounds like under water?” Piebald asked them and made a gurgling sound. 

“Oh, God,” Mizuki breathed and hid behind the wall. “What am I gonna do when there’s a goldfish with a camouflaged power?” 

She stopped when she felt something cold and wet on her hand. She looked down and saw a gray gunk on her palm. A smirk plastered itself on her face, and a plan came upon her. 

She quickly plastered the gunk all over her and snuck around the corner of the sewer line. 

Piebald landed on the bridge and hopped from the turtles and Splinter. 

“What did we ever do to deserve this—oh, right, right, the flushing,” Donnie said. 

“You dumb disc slingers flushed me alive,” Piebald threw a frisbee down the whirlpool and recounted the incident. “And replaced me with an imposter so my own loving father didn’t know I was missing. Who does that? I was lost and alone, and some trash wizard tried to eat me. But my flavor was too robust, and I escaped. I was forced to embrace the sewer circle of life and eat things I am not proud of.” 

“Now you losers can feel what it’s like to be mutants and live in the sewers,” she glared at them evilly. 

“That’s already their thing, actually,” Mizuki called from above and leaped from her hiding place towards Piebald, yelling her battle cry. 

“What the—“ Piebald gasped and disappeared. 

Mizuki yelped and rolled across the bridge, stopping in front of the turtles and Splinter, the gunk now off of her. She groaned, sitting herself up, and gasped when Piebald appeared again. 

“Now that the whole family is here, it’s time for my flushing revenge!” Piebald sneered at her. 

“We never meant to flush you! It was an accident, honest!” Leo pleaded with the mutant goldfish. “How about we make it up to you with a nice dinner out? Sushi? I mean, fish and chips, er, branzino. Why can’t I stop suggesting fish?!” 

Piebald laughed sinisterly and swing her hook at Mizuki. The human girl grabbed it in time before it could even hit her. She struggled with the fish mutant while taking glances at Donnie. 

“Sorry, Dad. It was me who made everyone keep the secret from you!” Leo admitted to his father. 

Mizuki got up completely and glowered at Piebald with determination. “Flush me instead and let my boyfriend and his family go!” 

Piebald cackled and smirked darkly. “Let your boyfriend and his family go. I love that idea!” 

She sliced the rope holding the guys and Splinter hostage with the hook. The guys fell towards the whirlpool, screaming. 

“No!” Mizuki cried, reaching out to them. 

“I love you guys!” Leo screamed. 

The rope cracked, though, and the trap holding them flew back up before landing on the bridge in front of Mizuki and broke open. 

Mizuki gasped and laughed, rushing towards the brothers. 

Donnie chuckled and spun her around by the waist. He set her and kissed her on the lips before they were then surrounded by the other three brothers in a group hug.

Splinter laughed without warning, and the teens noticed him and Piebald beaming at them mischievously. 

“And that is why you always tell the truth!” Splinter said, his arms folded. 

Piebald laughed, holding onto her side. “Got ya! You should see your faces!” 

“Huh?” 

“How do you—“ 

“Wait, what?” 

“What did—“ 

“Did—“ 

“And pulling me into this?!” 

“After a year, I made my way back home only to find a google-eyed rock living in my fishbowl,” Piebald explained to the turtles and held up her fishbowl with the rock. “Poor form, guys.” 

“I was shocked to discover you boys had lied to me,” Splinter added. “So we planned this whole thing to teach you, except for Mizuki, a lesson.” 

“I don’t know…how to feel now,” Mikey said, freaked out. 

“I tried to tell you guys to tell the truth, but you just went ahead and didn’t,” Mizuki told them, her arms folded. 

“My sons, you know I love you, but you only remember lessons when you learn them the hard way,” Splinter told the guys. “So, remember, lying is bad, and Dad is good.” 

“Night, night,” he turned around, with Frankenfoot tied to his back, and walked off. 

“Buddies,” Frankenfoot waved a peace sign at them. 

“Later, turds,” Piebald winked at the turtles and followed behind them. “Oh, and Mizuki. Sorry for pulling you into this. No hard feelings?”

“Not at all,” Mizuki called out to her. 

She then turned to the guys, who all stared at her and their father apologetically, and raised an ‘I told you so’ eyebrow at them.


	60. Lair Games

The camera turns on and shifts to Raph in his room.

"Okay, we're rolling," April says off-camera. "So, tell me, what are the Lair Games?"

Raphael: Leader of Team, 5 Time 2nd Place

"Ah, well, it started six years ago when we got swept up in the water bottle challenge," Raph explains.

O'Neil Productions Presents

Michelangelo: Youngest Brother, Ballet Master

"The Lair Games are the single greatest day of the year!" Mikey says excitedly. "It's better than Halloween, Thanksgiving, my birthday..."

"It's a one day, 16 event, brother-versus-brother competition," Raph adds.

An April O'Neil Production

"...uh, me finding a quarter day, me finding a quarter anniversary day—" Mikey goes on as he counts down the events with his feet and fingers.

"It challenges you. Both physically and mentally," Raph throws a water bottle over his shoulder and nods when it landed on his workout set.

"And this year was the craziest year ever," he says to the camera dramatically.

The title 'The Lair Games' and 'A Film by April O'Neil' appears with four colored symbols behind the words and explosions going off.

The screen then moves on to the skating area where the Lair Games are starting. A banner with the words 'The Lair Games' hangs over a stage where Splinter and Leo are standing.

The red-eared slider turtle stands on the stage with three medals around his neck, while the other turtles are sitting in front of the stage. Mizuki, Hallie, Momoka, and Garrett are also sitting behind the other three. Shelldon hovers near the teens and adults.

"As is tradition at the annual Lair Games," Splinter, who is wearing a referee outfit, says through a microphone. "The winner of last year's—"

"As five-time champ, I'd like you all to stand while I speak," Leo interrupts him and steps beside him.

As the camera pans up at him, he smirks at his brothers smugly.

Raph: Ugh, losing to Leo is the worst.

"You know how they say act like you've been there before? Leo never read that book," Raph says.

"When I say king, you say Leo," Leo exclaims, holding the microphone stand.

"King," he holds the stand over to the turtles and humans.

They only stare at him unamused.

"Leo. That was great," he chuckles and takes the microphone. "Okay, but enough about my numerous victories—there are many. This year, in an effort to inspire you to be as great as I am..."

Donnie rolled his eyes and grumbles in annoyance. April, in the back, moves to the side a bit as she records the event.

"I'm offering up the biggest prize yet," Leo smirks. "My room. AKA, the best room."

Raph, Donnie, and Mikey both gasp, the two young turtles looking at each other.

Leo, now clad in his blue robe from the wrestling competition and sunglasses, opens the curtain to his room and smiles cockily.

The area is filled with his medals from the past Lair Games and his other stuff.

Raph: It wasn't about the room. It was about taking something away from him.

"Something he loved," Raph says.

Hallie: Proud, Yet Concerned Lover of Leo

"Sure, I'm proud of Leo for winning the past Lair Games," Hallie sits on the ground in the living room. "But sometimes, fame can get to his head, and he tends to forget what's really important to him."

Michelangelo: Loves His Brother, But...

"Man, we were just tired of losing," Mikey complains. "And no one lost worse than Donnie."

Year 5

Donnie grunted and slammed his hand on a watermelon. He yelled in pain and held his hand while jumping on one leg. Leo laughed at the occurrence.

Year 3

Donnie threw a pizza at one of the targets like a frisbee, only for the food to fall on his head. He sagged and his face changed to deadpanned.

Back to the Year 5 event, Donnie tried slamming his foot on the watermelon, only to fall to the ground from being hit by his foot. Leo laughed even louder.

Year 1

A younger Donnie rolled on the ground as dozens of beach balls bounced around him. Meanwhile, a younger Mikey was having a good time with the beach balls.

On the Year 5 event, Donnie turned to his bo staff and formed it to a rocket hammer. He slammed his staff on the fruit, but the rocket broke off from the end.

"Huh."

The rocket flew right to him and shot him around the area. Leo laughed even more and fell to the ground.

Mizuki: Donnie's Girlfriend, Mystic Protector

"I felt absolutely terrible for Donnie," Mizuki says. "Although the Lair Games are meant to be fun, he wanted nothing more than to beat his blue brother."

"No one wanted to let Leo chump them again this year," Raph shook his head and narrowed his eyes. "We were ready for war."

"Ladies and gentlemen, reporting to you live from the scene of the first event, the Handstand Hill-Bomb!" Splinter says to the camera.

Mizuki, Hallie, Momoka, and Garrett stand on the sides of the sewer hill for the first event.

The four brothers stand on top of the sewer hill with their skateboards. Shelldon hovered around them as he records the event.

"You can do it, Donnie!" Mizuki calls up to her boyfriend.

The turtles then make handstands on their skateboards.

The traffic light turned green, signaling the start of the first event.

The boys hop off the top and descend the hill.

"And they're off!" Splinter declares.

"Whoo! Go, Donnie, go!" Mizuki cheers.

"Ooh, it looks like someone has separated themselves from the pack," Splinters says.

Leo speeds ahead of the guys and blows kisses at them.

"Down the stretch they come," Splinter says, his eyes lighting up. "And...it's..."

Leo speeds across the finish line first.

"Blue," Splinter declares unimpressed.

Mizuki, Momoka, Garrett, and Hallie both cheered unenthusiastically.

He groans and rips up a piece of paper. "Ugh, I knew I shouldn't have bet on Red."

Leo strolls up to the camera and focuses it on him. "I may be bald, but call me the hare because I smoke tortoises."

"In second..." Splinters pipes in.

Donnie instantly zooms past him and Leo through the finish line. The humans gasped and laughed ecstatically.

"Purple?" Splinter asks amazed.

Leo shook his head at his purple-wearing brother and stomps towards him.

"I can't believe it. This is unprec—ah." The rat mutant is cut off when Leo snags the microphone by the line.

He steps up to Donnie and holds the microphone a bit too close to his face. "Second place, huh? What's that feel like?"

"'Nardo, please, don't," Donnie warns him.

"Because I only get first," Leo places the microphone on his head and walks off while dabbing.

Donnie sags at him, a deadpanned look on his face.

Donatello: AKA Othello Von Ryan, Bootyshaker 9000

"Second, baby!" Donnie says victoriously.

"Donnie got second, and I was like, 'Am I dreaming?'" Raph remarks astonished.

Mizuki: Proud, Amazed Girlfriend

"I couldn't believe my own eyes! He won second place," Mizuki says while smiling. "This is actually the first time he didn't get any of the last two places."

Donatello: Has Drawn on Eyebrows For 9 Years

"I just got second! I just got second!" Donnie dances around and picks up his titanium bust and imitates a trumpet with it.

Michelangelo: Bless his Heart, He Always Gives It All

"It wasn't a great start for me," Mikey chuckles.

He grunts when he lands on the ground near the finish line all tangled up with the banner from the first event and bruised. His skateboard slides past him through the finish line.

Leo and Donnie's turtle score move by one chime, apart from Raph's and Mikey's.

Down in the sewers, the turtles are now standing over a pipe, while Splinter, in a hazmat, stands to the side. April and Shelldon are recording the second event, and the four humans stand away from the pipe area.

"And it's a clear, indoor day," Splinter says. "Conditions are ideal as we begin event number two..."

"Event: 2. Pipe Goop Chicken"

"My signature event," Leo smirks, his hands on his hips.

"The goop that separates the turtles from the tadpoles," he makes a wavy motion with his body as Raph and Mikey both lay down on the floor.

"Uh, that's not exactly—" Donnie started.

"The mice from the rats," Leo interrupted as he laid down beside the snapper turtle.

Raph blows his tail ends off of his eyes.

"Yeah, again, you're wrong," Donnie corrected him.

"Who's gonna flinch first?" Leo puts his hands behind his head. "Wow, well, my money's on Donnie."

"And I'll bet it's Leo who will jump out at the last second," Mizuki whispers to her father, who chuckles.

"Three, two, one," Splinter turns the valve open.

The pipe clatters and shakes, and Leo prepares himself, laughing.

"Pizza supreme in the sky, please give me strength," Raph mumbles.

The pipe continues to clatter and shake until a puff of air leaves through the opening.

The human adults and teens raised a perplexed eyebrow at the unexpected occurrence.

Large, green gunk slowly left from the opening and lowered itself towards the turtles.

"Ooh, it's too gross! I can't do it!" Raph yells and flees to the sewer wall.

"My face is too pretty to be slimed!" Mikey exclaims and jumps onto Splinter for dear life.

"Final two," Splinter says, though Mikey was holding onto him.

Shelldon hovers around the two as the goop gets closer to them. Mizuki and Hallie both hold their breath for their specific lovers.

"Time to tap out, brother," Leo dares the purple-wearing turtle. "Time to remember who you are."

"You first, brother," Donnie dares him as he sweats.

The goop grows bigger by the pulp and lowers even more to them.

"This is your last chance," Leo laughs nervously.

Donnie breathes heavily, though the red-eared slider is sweating more than him.

Leo whimpers before he instantly jumps up and dives into the sewer waters. "No!"

"Blue's out! Purple wins?" Splinter declares surprised.

"Yes! I w—ohh!" Donnie is cut off when the goop lands on his face.

Mizuki and Hallie both gasp in horror. Garrett and Momoka both stare at him wide-eyed.

"Ohh!"

"Oh, my gosh!"

Raphael: Leader of Team, 5 Time 2nd Place

"The guy who wears gloves to read his comics got gooped!" Raph exclaims.

Donatello: Suffered his First Victory

"Literally, the taste of victory was horrible," Donnie remarks.

He looks around, smirking. "But figuratively, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom."

Garrett and Momoka: Mizuki's Parents, Mystic Protectors

Garrett laughs and holds onto his side, with his one hand covering his eyes. Momoka stares at him unimpressed.

"The goop fell on his face with his mouth open," he continues to laugh and wipes a tear from his eye. "How could he not see it?!"

"Really, sweetheart?" Momoka says to him.

Michelangelo: Moonlights As DJ Dr. Delicate Touch, CPA

"You should've seen the look on his face," Mikey smirks, pulling out and turning on a boombox.

"It was then I knew we were witnessing history," he smiles and turns up the volume.

"Event: 3. Pizza Darts"

The four turtles grunt as they threw their slices at the targets. Donnie was the only one who managed to get the target perfectly.

Raph: Donnie won three in a row. He was next level.

Raph and Leo fell on their knees in defeat. Donnie gasps and laughs giddily as Mikey applauds at him.

Donnie's turtle score moves by one chime on the scoreboard.

"Event: 5. Dizzy Race"

The turtles spin around on spinning chairs before starting for the buttons. Raph falls off, but Leo and Donnie make their way to the line.

Donnie falls to the ground with Mikey on the fence, and Leo clicks the buttons and is sent falling backward when an airhorn sounded.

Mikey: But Leo—(chuckles) He wasn't going down without a fight.

Leo's turtle score moves once, passing Donnie's.

"Event: 9. 'Mallow Mouth"

Leo groans with marshmallows in his mouth on the floor, and Donnie lays on his back with some left in his mouth. Mikey spits out the marshmallows and groans. Raph chuckles and grabs some more from the bag, which is being held by an amazed Splinter.

Raph's turtle score chimes and makes one move past Donnie's as well.

Raphael: 5 Time 'Mallow Mouth Champion

"I can fit a whole fist in my mouth," Raph says and raises his fist towards his face. "Wanna see?"

Leo and Donnie's turtle scores repeatedly pass each other through the numerous events until Donnie's is close to the finish line on the scoreboard.

Mikey: I mean, nothing ever phases Leo. But that day, Donnie was getting to him.

"So we agreed, no questions about the incident, right?" Leo asks, placing the miniature microphone on him, as he sits on the armchair.

Leonardo: Chief Suspect In...The Incident

April: Of course! (sucks teeth) Please. Leo, tell me about the incident.

Leo glares at her and stands up from the armchair and discards the microphone. April turns to the camera and giggles.

"Event: 15. Fridge Balance"

In the kitchen, April and Shelldon record Leo and Donnie holding various food items on their chins. Raph slams his fists on the floor as he lies down, with Mikey rubbing his head.

The human adults and teens watch the scene with anticipation and worry all at once.

Donnie: Going into the penultimate event, Fridge Balance, I knew I had it. It was my day, and when it's your day, you gotta ride it. As the great Bard once said...

Donatello: AKA Slayer of Leo's, The Underdog Champ

"...'To thine own self, beat Leo!'" Donnie says with determination.

Michelangelo: I Was Like, Right There, Man

"And that's when Leo fell. Or did he?" Mikey says with suspicion.

April: So you think he did it on purpose.

As the camera zooms in on him, he looks around and nods his head.

"If purple wins this event, it will almost impossible for Blue to catch up," Splinter says, clad in a news reporter outfit.

Leo wobbles around while trying to balance the fridge items.

"Oh, no, Blue is starting to wobble," Splinters says.

Leo strains and keeps his balance for only a moment before he instantly fell beside Donnie and they both tumble down with the fridge items.

As the screen changes back to normal, the teens and adults gather around the fallen duo.

Leo and Donnie both groan as the blue-branded turtle lays on top of the soft-shell. Splinter measures them both based on their falls.

"Purple hit the ground first. Blue wins!" He declares, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah! Whoo!" Leo cheers.

However, the camera moves to Donnie's ankle hit by pineapple and throbbing.

Donnie: It was Leo!

Donatello: Victim of Leo's Cruel Assault

"He did it on purpose!" He points at the camera enraged.

Mizuki: Uncertain of Leo's Intentions

"I'm unsure of Leo's true goal for the Lair Games," Mizuki says to the camera. "He never would go this far to win this event, but then again, he was determined to keep Donnie from winning."

Leonardo: Outrage: Sincere or Staged? You Decide!

"I'm only talking to you to set the record straight. I didn't do it on purpose," Leo insists. "I mean, how could I? I had half a fridge on my chin!"

"This is just like the Salisbury Witch Trials!" He stands up and places his hand in front of the camera.

Donatello: Skeptic That 'The Incident' Was Accidental

"The Salisbury Witch Trials," Donnie states, scanning the area with doubt.

Donnie wails from the agonizing pain of his broken ankle. Mizuki holds him by the arm, soothing him.

"Get medical attention, hurry!" Momoka shouts in the background.

"I'm hurrying, woman!" Garrett shouts back off-camera.

"Donnie? Donnie, are you okay?" Leo asks his brother, his hand on his shoulder.

"You did this!" Donnie accuses him. "You'll do anything to win! My ankle! My moment!"

"Don't stress yourself out any further," Mizuki instructs him and strokes his arm.

"Papa, hurry!" She turns back to the direction her father had run off to.

"I'm here! I got the medical kit!" Garrett runs back with a first aid kit.

Donatello: Recalls The Traumatic Attack By Brother

"I heard it pop," Donnie says, close to tears. "I thought it was all over. Everything I worked for. Everything I dreamed ab—"

"I—I'm sorry. Can I have a moment?" He covers his face with his hands and sobs.

Leo and Donnie's turtle score moves a bit close to the finish line.

Donnie is laying on a hospital bed, holding a rose, and posing dramatically. His broken ankle was put up in a cast as the medley door closes.

Raph: (sighs) At that point, it looked like it was over for Donnie.

Raphael: Deeply Concerned About 3rd Favorite Brother

Raph seems sad before he laughs. "Ha! Did you see his ankle?"

Mikey: Deeply Concerned About 2nd Favorite Brother

"It was huge! I thought we should amputate!" Mikey gestures to his ankle.

Mizuki: Deeply Concerned For Boyfriend

"Donnie was so close!" Mizuki remarks, her fingers barely touching. "He had been waiting his whole life to finally beat Leo at his own game!"

"Final Event: Shell Bowling"

Mikey: It was over. Leo had it again.

Leo blows a kiss before leaping off the top of the skating ramp. "Jump!"

He pops into his shells, speeds down the skating ramp and hits the mannequins with one shot.

Raph: New year, same result.

The adults and teens applaud unenthusiastically as Leo dances around victoriously.

"Another perfect ten for Blue, and with Purple unable to bowl—" Splinter says, riding on a floatie.

A smoke bomb was set off off-camera, and the teens and adults turn towards the source.

"Not so fast, my friend!"

The camera shifts to a finger with the cast on his ankle.

Donnie pushes the smoke aside and glowers at Leo. "I'm here, brother. Let's bowl.

Raphael: Witnessed The Underdog's Return

"When Donnie showed up, I was like, 'Whaaa?'" Raph grabs at his head.

Michelangelo: WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"...ahhh..." Mikey goes on upside down.

Raphael: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Whaaa?" Raph then clasps his face.

Michelangelo: AAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaat

"...aaaat?"

Donnie drags his injured ankle across the ground and makes it to the edge. He glowers down at Leo, who sweats nervously up at him.

April: I bet you were scared, huh?

Leo: Scared?

"Me? I'm never scared," Leo denies. "Is Lou Jitsu scared of, uh, cold soup? No, no. Scared?"

"Donnie needs a ten to win," Splinter announces.

"Be careful, honey!" Mizuki calls up to him anxiously.

Donnie sighs and raises his arms. He jumps off the ledge and flips in the air.

Michelangelo: Believes In His Purple Brother

"I knew he could do it..." Mikey exclaims.

Donnie pops into his shell, except for his casted ankle, which he is struggling to push in.

Michelangelo: ....Nevermind

"...is something I would say if I was crazy," Mikey finishes.

"Come on!" Donnie grunts, trying to get his ankle in.

Raph: With that ankle, rolling east to west?

Raphael: Also Doubts His Purple Brother

"No way," Raph crosses his arms.

"Come on!" Donnie grunts.

He finally gets his ankle in, only to spin around and hit the ground. "Oh, no!"

Although, he hits the mannequins with ease and slams through the skating ramp. The occurrence is replayed a few times in different views.

"Yeah!"

"What?"

"Whoo-hoo!"

"Ooh, yeah!"

Mizuki cried out in glee and jumps around before she is hugged from behind by Garrett and Momoka. Hallie gasps and claps her hands with delight.

"No!" Leo yells in slow motion and falls to his knees.

Donnie pulls himself through the hole of the skating ramp and gasps.

One by one, the mannequins fall to the ground, until one was left standing upright and undamaged.

"It's a nine!" Splinter holds up a paper with the number 9.

"What?!" Everyone all shouted.

Leo and Donnie's turtle score reach the finish line and chime.

"Wait a second, that means—" Leo starts.

"We tied!" Donnie finishes, popping from behind.

"Tied?" Leo asks.

Raphael: Overwhelmed By Unprecedented Situation

"No one knew what to do!" Raph exclaims. "I mean, what do we do? Did we consult the by-laws? Did we call the president?"

Donnie and Leo flip through the pages of the rule book until they found the one regarding a tie of an event.

"Section four, article seven," Donnie mumbles. "'In the instance of a tie, the next event will be a..."

He never gets to finish the last part as he and Leo look at each other worried. They both scream, their eyes wide.

Splinter: Oh No...What Have You Done, Splints?

Splinter laughs loudly. "I have waited my whole life for this."

"Splinter's choice? Are you crazy?" Leo asks perplexed. "Who came up with that?"

Hallie: ...Oh, God...

"When I asked Leo about this tie rule, he just told me the details I needed to know, and I was like, '...oh...'," Hallie says to the camera.

Raph and Mikey are recording the bonus event, with Mizuki, Hallie, Garrett, and Momoka standing to the side. Leo is sitting criss-cross beside Donnie, who has a bandage now wrapped around his ankle and leg.

The garage door opens to reveal a boxing ring with Shelldon hovering over it.

Splinter vocalizes outside the area. "Out of retirement...for one night only...it's Splinter!"

Donnie and Leo glance at each other as they wear their helmets with the cameras on them.

Splinter slides out to the boxing ring fully naked and wearing underwear and his sunglasses.

"Time for the Slippery Whippery Woo!" He declares and sparks himself with sunscreen.

"Ahh! No! Why?!" Donnie yells in disgust as Leo stares at their father wide-eyed.

"Ohh!" Raph retches.

Mikey drops the camera at the sight of Splinter.

"Cover your eyes, girls!" Garrett yells.

The three girls did as he had told them.

Splinter: World's Worst Father

"Pretty great name, right?" Splinter chuckles, holding a shaver in his hand.

"Sudden death tiebreaker. Purple versus Blue. Whoever catches me wins the Lair Games!" Splinter announces.

He throws the bottles to the side and smirks. "Now let's go!"

Leo and Donnie stare at him uncomfortably before they growl and glare at each other. They laugh as they made their way towards Splinter.

Leo laughs and grabs Splinter by the arm. "Gotcha, old man!"

"No, it is I who has him!" Donnie grabs him by the leg.

Splinter looks up, still smiling, and flings his arm and leg off their grasps.

The two turtles try to grab him again, only for him to slip out. Their snouts touched one another before Leo pounced off of Donnie.

Splinter lands on the ground with ease and Donnie flies off to the wall and fails to get him. Leo jumps at him but slips off and flies towards the camera.

"Oh, not again!"

Splinter flips up and soars in through a pile of tires. Donnie lands at where the rat mutant is hiding and fails to catch him every time he pops out through.

Splinter laughs and slips up in the air when Leo attempts to catch him again.

The red-eared slider lands on a pile of things and the elder rat laughs and flexes his arms. Donnie grunts and leaps at him, but he slips off even he grabbed his tail. He bounds off towards the wrestling ring, with April jumping back in time.

"Out of the way!"

"Whoa!" April exclaims.

Donnie bounces off the wrestling ring ropes and soars towards Splinter. "Fibonacci!"

"Yeah!" Leo charges at him.

They both slam into him and soar up to the air. April hoists herself up with a rope and Shelldon hovers up to their level.

Splinter then spins around, forming a sunscreen tornado.

"We both know how this ends, brother," Leo says.

"Not today," Donnie states.

"You can't beat me! I'm the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be!" Leo shouts.

Splinter suddenly stops, and Leo makes a grab for him again. He only becomes confused when he catches something else.

Raph: I started out a Never Leo, but in the end...

Leo sees that he grabbed Splinter's underpants and moves around fast before he lands on the ground.

Mikey: I was actually rooting for Donnie.

Mizuki: And I knew I never doubted him for a moment.

"You know what rhymes with second place?" Donnie asks from above.

Leo looks up in time to find Donnie aiming Splinter's butt at him.

"Leo's face!" Donnie concludes with a determined and beaming look.

"No, no!" Leo shouts.

The screen instantly becomes static until it changes back to normal. Leo holds out his hand towards the camera, a box full of his things in his hands, while walking off.

Donnie is laying on the bed with a triumphant smirk. "Thanks for the room, bro. You know, a champion really needs his space."

He laughs wildly and points at hie blue-branded brother. "Champ burn! Burn! Champ burn!"

"So, Leo, how does this loss feel?" Aprils asks him off-camera.

"A better question would be..." Leo turns back at the camera.

"Did I really lose?" He asks back and winks.

The camera then focuses on Splinter sleeping in his bed and snoring. Leo points the camera at himself and shushes before gesturing to something.

The vent moves along with the mutant rat's snoring, and the camera shifts to Donnie, who is covering his ears, his eyes wide.

Leo turns the camera back to himself and smirks before it shuts off.


	61. Author's Note and Update

Just a little announcement to make. This story will be put on hold until more episodes of RotTMNT come up. 

Also, there will be some drawings for my Rise of the Teenage Anthro Ninja Sisters AU, so please bear with me when they come up.


	62. Breaking Purple

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've watched the new episodes, and...there are no words to describe how awesome and hilarious they are!
> 
> Anyways, enjoy this chapter! More will come soon.

Donnie laughed, his goggles over his eyes. “At last!” 

“My greatest creation!” He held up a long sandwich in the air. “The ultimate evolution in breakfast sandwich! A toasted avocado baco-bagel-rito…” 

As his goggles pulled away from his eyes, he sniffed the sandwich and sighed with content. “With cheese.” 

“Whoo!” Shelldon suddenly flew in and collided with Donnie before sailing past him. 

The sandwich, which had flown out of Donnie’s hands, flew up in the air and fell back down. Donnie gasped and grabbed it in time, setting it back in the rightful position. 

Donnie exhaled, only for the sandwich to fall apart and land all over him. Shelldon flew past him again, sending most of the cheese off of the purple-clad turtle. 

Donnie growled. “Shelldon!” 

Shelldon stopped in the air and turned around to find an angry Donnie. 

“I told you no drone racing in the Lair!” The latter yelled, pointing at him. 

“You guys have a giant skate ramp in the house and I can’t race?!” Shelldon scoffed, gesturing to the skate ramp. 

“No, you can’t,” Donnie folded his arms. 

“Why?” Shelldon flew up at him. 

“Because I said so, emailed so and texted so!” Donnie argued as his two robo arms held up his laptop and phone. 

“That’s so unfair! I’m sick of this shell-pression!” Shelldon groaned and flew away. 

He didn’t notice Mizuki walking in behind him until she touched him in the arm. 

“Something the matter, Donnie?” She asked him and sniffed. “And why do you smell like avocado and cheese?” 

“Breakfast sandwich issue,” Donnie replied, not even looking at her. 

“Problem, Donald?” Mikey slid up to him and took the remaining cheese bit off his goggles before eating it. 

Donnie groaned and rubbed the brow of his forehead. “It’s Shelldon. I just upgraded his operating system to version 13.” 

“Wow, 13,” Mikey said as Shelldon flew around in the lair. “Feels like yesterday he was just a twinkle in your toolbox.” 

“Yeah, and now he’s a pain in my shell,” Donnie said. 

“Well, I don’t see the problem with this still,” Mizuki questioned. 

“He charges until noon, he’s always coding back to me, and now he’s drone racing all over the house! I don’t know what to do.” 

“You, Raph and Leo went through that age before, haven’t you? Even I went through the same thing, only I had to learn how to control myself,” Mizuki stated. 

“Mizzy’s right. Shelldon’s at a delicate age,” Mikey added, sliding up next to Donnie and placing an arm around him. “You need to nurture his spirit or you’ll drive him away.” 

He snapped his fingers. 

A moment later, Donnie opened his eyes to find himself sitting in the living room. Stuffed animals are placed in chairs on opposite sides of him. Mizuki was leaning on the chair beside him.

“Uh…what is happening?” He asked unamused. 

Mikey, who is wearing a brown sweater, pants and glasses, pressed a button on a remote as he stood in front of the screen. 

“Good morning, I’m Dr. Feelings,” he calmly smiled. “Welcome to my seminar: Hug It Out.” 

The screen showed himself, Raph and Leo hugging Splinter and the words ‘Hug It Out’ hung over them.

“‘Dr. Feelings’? I thought you were Dr. Delicate Touch,” Donnie made quote gestures at the last few words. 

“Dr. Delicate Touch feels nothing,” Mikey replied, his eyes wide and his smile eerily peaceful. 

“Lesson One: ‘Because I Said So is Not an Answer’,” he pointed at the words on the screen with a long stick. “You need to learn a healthy way to express your feelings to your family.” 

“Yes, feelings. Hot, cold, hungry, sleepy…” Donnie began. 

Mizuki interrupted him. “No, feelings like happiness, heartbroken, anger.” 

Mikey nodded and pressed a button on the remote. An image of Donnie arguing with Shelldon appeared. 

“Remind you of anyone?” He asked him, his arms crossed in front of his chest. 

“Nope!” Donnie answered. 

Mizuki nodded her head to Mikey, who nodded back in return. He pressed another button, and an image of Splinter fighting with Donnie appeared. 

Then Donnie and Shelldon. 

Splinter and Donnie. 

Donnie and Shelldon. 

Splinter and Donnie. 

Donnie and Shelldon. 

Donnie stared at the screen as the images repeatedly changed. 

“Wha…” he started, then gasped when he saw the resemblance. 

“No! Anything but that!” He jumped out of the seat. 

“Now you understand the whole thing?” Mizuki asked him. 

“Yes! Yes, now I understand!” Donnie grabbed her by the arms. 

He fell beside Mikey on his knees and clasped his hands together. “Okay, teach me, Doctor. Teach me!” 

Mikey smirked, his arms folded. 

A crash resonated from the lab. 

Shelldon laid on his back atop a damaged contraption. 

“My dark matter accelerator!” Donnie yelled. “Shelldon!” 

Mikey and Mizuki both grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him back before he could shout any further. Donnie gritted his teeth, glaring at Shelldon, with Mizuki rubbing his arm.

“Donnie, remember to express your feelings,” she instructed him as Mikey massaged his shoulders. 

“And please, be gentle and calm as you do so,” she finished and tenderly pushed him towards Shelldon. 

Donnie regained his posture and cleared his throat. 

“Shelldon, I feel frustrated when you destroy my priceless inventions,” he told the hovering robot through gritted teeth. 

“Eye roll,” Shelldon sighed. 

“You did not just—“ 

Mikey and Mizuki both cleared their throats, interrupting him. The blue-haired girl tapped her foot lightly on the ground and raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Fine. Fine…I feel very, very—that’s two very’s, annoyed when you eye roll at me,” he went on. 

He looked up to find Shelldon staring at the screen of the device in his hand. 

“Oh, no,” Mikey whispered. 

“That’s it! You are grounded, young man,” Donnie growled and pulled out a heavy chain with a ball at the end. 

“Literally!” He attached the chain to Shelldon’s hover engine. 

“Hey!” Shelldon yelled. 

“Donald!” Mikey exclaimed. 

“What are you doing?” Mizuki gasped with shock. 

Shelldon fell to the floor, but Mikey and Mizuki both caught him in time. 

“That is a restringing bolt. From now on, you do not go anywhere or do anything without my say-so,” Donnie folded his arms and furrowed his eyebrows. 

“Zero-one-zero-zero-one you!” Shelldon shouted at him and hovered away with the restraining bolt still attached to his engine. 

“You watch your mouth, young man.” 

Mikey and Mizuki got up from the ground and watched Shelldon hover away gradually. 

“Sorry, Dr. Feelings, but I feel this was a job for Dr. Actually Solves Problems,” Donnie said, his arms still folded. 

Mizuki gave a one-sided glare. 

*****

Later that night, Donnie slept peacefully, holding the Jupiter Jim chopping action figure. The light through an open door showed a shadow leaving before the doors closed. 

Shelldon lifted the manhole cover with his head and placed it on the side. He hovered through the hole, the restraining bolt still attached to his engine. 

He fell to the ground tenderly and looked around. 

In the park, Shelldon dragged the restraining bolt across the bridge, a dejected look on his face. 

Something flew over him, and Shelldon perked up surprised. 

A drone with a dragon face in the front flew back to the three figures, who are testing it out in the playground area. 

Jason was controlling it with his remote, with Jeremy on his laptop. Kendra groaned, slapping herself in the forehead. 

“We’ll never win the drone race with your scrap heap, Jase!” She complained and pointed at Jason. 

“First prize is the Shadow Transmitter,” she smirked and rubbed her hands together. “And that thing can hack every system on the planet!” 

“Hey, look!” Jeremy gasped and pointed at something. 

Kendra and Jason looked at what he was gesturing to. 

Shelldon watched the dragon drone fly around him with wonder. 

“Isn’t that the drone that belongs to Othello Von Ryan?” Jeremy asked. 

“AKA BootyyyShaker9000, AKA…” Jason said next. 

“Donnie!” The Purple Dragons all said. 

“And he’s all alone,” Kendra smiled darkly. 

Shelldon continued to watch the dragon drone fly around until three shadows came up to him. 

“Hey, little guy,” Kendra greeted him a bit friendly. “Why aren’t you up there flying with your friends?” 

“‘Cause of this stupid restring bolt,” Shelldon replied, pulling at the restraining bolt. 

“Hey, wait!” He realized something when he recognized their attire. “You’re the Purple Dragons! You’re bad guys!” 

“Us?” Kendra laughed innocently. “No, we’re just misunderstood teens who don’t play by the rules.” 

Shelldon headed towards her, only to be stopped by the restraining bolt again. His face fell a bit. 

“Here, let me help you with that,” Kendra said, offering her hand to him. 

Shelldon complied and handed her his engine that was connected with the bolt. She messed around with the circuits with a tool, and the restraining bolt broke down and let go of his engine. 

“Cool! Whoo-hoo!” Shelldon cheered and flew around. “Booyakasha!” 

“Whoo-hoo-hoo! Nice moves!” Kendra called up to him. 

As the Purple Dragons turned to walk away, Shelldon hovered to their level. 

“Hey, we were gonna have some unsupervised fun, maybe even hit the drone races,” Kendra said. “You can come if you want.” 

“Yeah, totally!” Shelldon exclaimed excitedly. “I mean…”

He cleared his throat. “Cool, cool, whatevs.” 

The tires screeched, and the van sped down the street through New York City. Shelldon flew beside them, his speed picking up with them. 

At the Lazerdome, kids fired at Shelldon, who dodged their hits and fired back at them. Kendra and Jeremy shot the other two with their laser guns. 

Jason opened his eyes to find Shelldon hovering up beside him and gave him a fist bump. 

A man snored in the theater room as popcorn was flown at his mouth but missed. Shelldon aimed at his mouth and threw a candy bad at his mouth. 

The man unconsciously closed his mouth, eating the bar. 

The Purple Dragons and Shelldon cheered until the people in the room shushed them. 

The teens laughed more quietly now. 

As the sun began to rise, the Purple Dragons sped down the road. Jason slept with a Purple Dragon jacket covering Shelldon, who is also sleeping. 

Kendra looked back at the drone and smirked. 

Soon, the four sat at the hill and watched the sun rise over the ocean. 

“Well, now that you’re a Dragon, how’d you like to fly for us in a drone race?” Kendra asked him. 

Shelldon glanced at her hand, then back at her. “Yeah.” 

They both gave each other fist bumps. 

“Dragons till the end.” 

*****

“You see this, Doctor and Mizuki?” Donnie held up the sandwich identical to the last one. “With Shelldon grounded, I can finally enjoy my toasted avocado baco-bagel-rito in peace.” 

Donnie was laying on the table as he started eating his breakfast sandwich. Mikey stood on the side with his arms crossed, with Mizuki leaning against the counter. 

“Well, I hate to spoil this for you, Donnie, but don’t you think it’s time to take off the restraining bolt?” Mizuki asked him. 

Donnie finished the last of the sandwich and gulped it all down before sitting upright on the table. “You know what, love? You make a really good point. It is probably way too easy to take that off. I better go perma-tighten it.” 

Mizuki sighed, rolling her eyes. 

“Greetings, Donnie, or other turtle. I am still charging. I am very sorry for everything I did. No need to investigate further,” Shelldon’s voice resonated from underneath the cover. 

Donnie, Mikey and Mizuki are standing in Donnie’s lab as they stared at the blanket that was covering the drone’s figure. 

“Ha, you see that? I really got through to him,” Donnie laughed and started to walk away. 

“Did you, though?” Mikey asked. 

When Donnie turned back around, Mikey picked up the blanket to reveal a decoy of Shelldon. The boombox repeated the message that Shelldon had left behind, with one of the basketballs falling off from one side. 

“He ran away?!” Donnie nearly yelled. 

He kicked the boombox in frustration. 

“Donnie!” Mizuki gasped, suddenly shocked at his action. 

The doors to the sewers opened up. Donnie opened up his Hover Shell while carrying Mizuki by the waist and flew off to find Shelldon. 

“Donnie, wait!” Mikey called to him, but he was already gone. 

“Shelldon?” Donnie yelled at the City Hall. 

“Shelldon!” He tried again at the Mystic Library, with the Bat Librarian glaring at him in annoyance. 

“Shelldon?” He popped out through a toilet as someone nearly fell off from the seat. 

“Shelldon!” He rode on a bumper car at a theme park. 

“Shelldon!” He popped out from the ocean water. 

But there was no sign of Shelldon anywhere. 

“Shelldon!” He yelled as he and Mizuki hid behind a sign. 

Mizuki gasped and covered his mouth to prevent him from screaming any further. 

“This is top-notch scrap! Where’d you get all this?” Repo Mantis asked the same man Mizuki had interrogated back in the Brooch District as they studied something. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Loose Lips Malinowski don’t talk about sources,” the man said. 

Donnie and Mizuki hid behind a pile of scraps and listened to the conversation without being seen. 

“I’m not just gonna tell you I got it from the drone races where wayward teen drones go when they run away from home after a fight their misguided parental figures will regret for the rest of their lives. That’s where I got it from.” 

Donnie flinched at the man’s every words. Mizuki couldn’t help but feel bad for her purple-loving boyfriend at the moment. 

“Ah, shame. All this senseless carnage could be avoided if people simply communicated,” Repo picked up the destroyed drone and threw it with the others. 

Donnie saw the pile where the other damaged drones are and imagined them all…as Shelldons!

He gasped and hid behind the fence. “Shelldon!” 

“‘Senseless carnage’?” Mizuki pondered. 

Her heart dropped when she understood. “There’s only one place where this kind of damage happens. And it happens down at the docks.” 

“Let’s go!” Donnie sped off after taking her by the hand again. 

*****

“Here we are, Dragons,” Kendra said. 

She, her team and Shelldon stood in front of the doors of a warehouse down at the docks. 

“I give you the thrilling world of underground drone racing!” Kendra opened the doors. 

Shelldon shielded his eyes before pulling his hover engine away. His eyes went wide with excitement. 

The drone racing stadium was huge, filled with crazy courses and drones flying around in the trails. 

The Purple Dragons and Shelldon walked past the contestants who are prepping their drones for the next race at the starting line. 

“Ha, these drones got nothing on you,” Kendra laughed and knelt next to Shelldon. “You’re gonna win us that prize.” 

At the top of the stadium, an object with a red light in the middle sat in its unmoving position. 

“The Shadow Transmitter! It’s so powerful...and blinky,” Jason awed. 

Shelldon stared on with sparkling eyes as the Purple Dragons walked past him and stepped into an elevator. 

“See ya at the finish line, Shell,” Kendra smirked. 

The elevator doors closed and the contraption took the contestants up to a fenced area. 

“Welcome, warriors of the sky, to Thunder Drone!” A man, who is standing on a car being lowered down, shouted. 

The crowd cheered. 

“I’m your host, Billionare Guy Eccentric!” The man went on. “Billionaire is my first name and not a reference to my financial situation.” 

He paused when he heard someone speak on the microphone on his ear. “Really? A last minute entry!” 

“Introducing...Drone-atello!” 

“Drone-atello?” Shelldon asked, confused. 

When he turned to his side, he noticed a turtle in a box and holding two fans in each hand. “Donnie! What are you doing here?” 

“I know you’re mad at me, but don’t do this,” Donnie pleaded with him. “It’s too dangerous.” 

“Well, my friends don’t think so,” Shelldon disagreed. “They think I can win.” 

“Shelldon, listen to him! You don’t know what you’ve put yourself into!” Mizuki called through to him. 

“Mizuki?! You’re in this race, too?!” Shelldon exclaimed annoyed. 

“No, I’m staying out of this race for a reason. Donnie’s patched me through,” Mizuki replied as she sat on top of the contestant watchtower, her fingers pressed against the earpiece in her ear. 

“You must reconsider your decision about this event right now. The Purple Dragons are not your friends. They’re using you to get the Transmitter,” she pleaded with him. 

“No way! They’re my friends, they wouldn’t do that,” Shelldon ignored her pleas. 

“Racers, start your rotors!” The announcer called. 

The contestants powered up their drones with their remote controllers. 

“Mizuki’s telling the truth. Those jerks are not your friends,” Donnie claimed to Shelldon. 

The stoplights lowered themselves over the starting line and began counting down. 

“You’re both wrong. They don’t have any rules,” Shelldon glared at him. “And they let me do whatever I want!” 

The horn blasted, signaling the start of the race. 

“Dragons till the end!” Shelldon yelled and sped off with the other drones. 

“Shelldon, wait!” Donnie shouted, soon chasing after him. 

The screen showed the drones speeding across the trail of the race. One of the drones picked up the other and smashed it onto another before it shook around and sent it flying. 

“Be careful, Donnie! The drones are getting ruthless! And the obstacle courses are dangerous!” Mizuki said through the earpiece. 

“I’ll try. Shelldon!” Donnie called for the purple drone. 

He came across another course with cars swinging and hitting the other in front hanging in the air. 

“Not good, not good!” 

Like the surviving drones, he was able to avoid them in time as he continued to chase Shelldon. 

“Shelldon! Shelldon, I’m sorry!” 

Donnie sighed and flew up through another course with the other drones. “Please, come home.” 

“Home is where your family is, and I’m a Purple Dragon now!” Shelldon refused and flew through a subway car.

“They are not your family, Shelldon! Donnie and I are to you!” Mizuki said through his earpiece. 

“If you lose this race, they’re gonna kick you to the curb!” Donnie flew after him. 

He yelped when saws sliced through the other subway car. Yet he kept on sailing for Shelldon. 

“You guys are just saying that to get me to do what you want!” Shelldon glared at the flying turtle. 

He was busy arguing with Donnie that he didn’t notice the saw swinging behind the door. 

“Look out! Saw, saw!” Donnie cried and flew for him. 

He collided with Donnie and flew him through in time. The saws came back and hit Donnie. He screamed and slid through one of the subway cars before he fell towards the bottom of the drone racing area below. Shelldon flew beside him as he avoided the obstacles. 

“Donnie!” Mizuki screamed with terror. 

“And Drone-atello plummets through the drop!” The announcer said. “Looks like our late entry is finished.” 

Donnie kept screaming until he landed in the waters of the obstacle courses and grunted upon impact. When he opened his eyes, Shelldon and the last two drones zoomed past him through the tunnel. 

“No, no!” Donnie exclaimed. 

One of the drones hit the obstacles of the course, leaving Shelldon and a surviving drone the last racers. They zoomed out through the opening and sped for the finish line. 

“I’m sorry, Shelldon,” Donnie said, getting up. “But there’s only one way to make you understand what they’re really like.” 

“I have to win this race,” he pressed a button on his arm device. 

When nothing happened, he pressed it again a few times before his Rocket Shell opened up. In a flash, he sped through the last obstacle curse, hitting the walls and screaming in the process. 

“Ho, ho, ho! In an unprecedented move, Drone-atello is crashing straight through the obstacle course!” The announcer gasped amazed. “It’s a good thing drones can’t feel pain.” 

Donnie grunted as he hit through every part of the obstacle course, leaving bruises and cuts on him. 

“But is it enough to win the race?” The announcer asked-yelled. 

“It’s got to be. It has to,” Mizuki mumbled to herself, clasping her hands in anticipation. 

Shelldon and the last drone, which belong to the man at the junkyard, hit each other a few times and flew fast for the finish line. 

The Purple Dragons and the owner of the drone smirked. 

Mizuki bit her bottom lip, her hands still clasped together. 

A star-shaped light shone from the darkness of the tunnel before Donnie flew out through the opening at high speed. 

Shelldon reached out a couple of times past the last drone. He’s so close. He’s gonna win this...

Donnie instantly flew up, destroying the last drone and with Shelldon able to avoid that move. 

The crowd gasped in shock, the Purple Dragons glaring at the purple-loving turtle. 

Mizuki felt hope rising in her. 

“Donnie?” Shelldon gasped. 

Donnie flew up to the finish line flag and unintentionally pulled it from the poles holding it, passing the car that is holding the announcer. 

He crashed into something offscreen, and Mizuki winced at the impact. 

“Holy smokes! Drone-atello wins!” The man shouted excitedly. 

Shelldon slowed down and found Donnie stuck against the wall groaning. 

He fell down and grunted. “Ow.” 

Mizuki jumped down from the watchtower and helped him up a bit. Shelldon sagged and flew towards the Purple Dragons. A drone hovered up to Donnie and Mizuki and handed them the Shadow Transmitter

“Hope everyone had a great time! Remember to tip your host because I am in horrible, future-crippling condition!” 

Mizuki glanced up at where Shelldon flew off to and followed after him. 

Shelldon approached the two male Dragon members and Kendra, whose back faced him with her arms crossed. 

Shelldon groaned. “Sorry, guys. We’ll get ‘em next time.” 

“Useless drone! There won’t be a next time!” Kendra snapped at him. 

“But...but...we’re friends.” 

“Are you kidding me?! We were never friends!” Kendra, with Jeremy and Jason now glaring at him, glowered. “I just needed you to get the Shadow Transmitter, and you failed!” 

“Hey!” 

The Purple Dragons looked up at who the voice belonged to. 

Shelldon felt a hand place itself on his shell and saw Mizuki. He nearly flinched when he noticed her angered face staring at the Purple Dragons. 

Meanwhile, Donnie stepped up on a platform, holding the Transmitter in his arms, and watched Mizuki confront the purple-wearing teens.

“You have no right to treat or speak to him like that,” Mizuki spat at Kendra. “Apologize to him right now, or you’ll face my fists as last time.” 

“Do not threaten me like that, Harrison,” Kendra glared at her. 

“Jase, get that transmitter!” She turned to Jason and pointed at Donnie and the Transmitter. 

Jason smirked and pressed a button on his remote. A bigger Dragon drone appeared behind him and fired up its weapons, aiming them at Donnie. 

Mizuki gasped, her eyes growing wide. 

The Dragon drone suddenly crashed and fell to the ground before it caught on fire. 

“Wow,” Mizuki mumbled. 

“I wished your dad never married my mom,” Kendra narrowed her eyes at a cowering Jason. 

“Apparently, we won’t be taking that transmitter,” she then pointed at Donnie. “But after we make some minor upgrades, you guys are so toast!” 

She laughed maniacally, but was cut off when Mizuki stepped up to her, her arms crossed, and smirked darkly. A hint of green flashed in her eyes, and she opened up her palm, revealing some electric bolts. 

“Oh, really?” Mizuki still smiled. 

Kendra gulped and sped off with the other members in tow. 

Shelldon hung his head and started slowly for the exit. 

“Shelldon, wait,” Donnie threw the Transmitter to the side and jumped off the platform. 

“You guys proved your point, okay?” Shelldon glanced at the two teens. “I never should have run away and joined the Dragons.” 

Donnie placed his hand on one of his hover engines and beamed softly. “Hey, we all make mistakes, bud. Including me. I shouldn’t have been so harsh. I’m really, really sorry. Two really’s.” 

Shelldon laughed a bit. “Uh...I’m really, really sorry, too, D.” 

A thought bubble containing Dr. Feelings appeared beside Donnie. He and Mizuki both smiled at him. 

“Hug it out,” they both said. 

Donnie hesitated before he quickly grabbed Shelldon and hugged him tight. 

Shelldon hugged him back in reply. 

Mizuki smiled warmly and watched the two embrace one another. 

The crowd cried with joy and awed at the warming sight on the screen. 

“Looks like my work here is done,” Dr. Feelings smirked, folding his arms. 

“Nice job, Dr. Feelings,” his own thought bubble appeared and gave him a thumbs up. 

They gave each other a high five.


	63. Repairin' the Baron

In the Hidden City, the two guards that worked with Draxum stood in front of the Council Heads in their headquarters. 

“By unanimous decree of the Council, Baron Draxum is found guilty of crimes against the Yokai,” the first Head Council stated to them. 

An image of Draxum hovered over him as he spoke. 

“Unlawful, genetic manipulation. Unleashing dark mystic forces in an effort to destroy humanity, damaging the cloak of secrecy that has kept us safe for eons,” the second Head added. 

A few more images of Draxum wearing the Dark Armor and attacking the humans before the Shredder took his life source appeared as well. 

“Sounds like a terrible guy,” one of the guards whispered to the other. 

“You work for him.” 

An image of those guards and Draxum hanging it at a water cooler showed up next to them. They muttered nervously. 

“But we will forgive you for assisting him, provided you bring him back to the Hidden City to answer for his crimes,” the last Head Council told them. 

“And one last thing...” The first Head Council said. 

Another image of Mizuki, who is seen battling the Shredder down at the beach, appeared in front of them. 

“Bring the girl to the Hidden City as well, so we can learn more about her.” 

“Yes, Mighty Heads,” they bowed down to them. 

*****

Thunder crashed outside at the construction building where it all began. The two guards atop their dogs leaped through the wall’s mouth, growling. 

They slowly transformed themselves into their human disguises and began their search for Draxum and Mizuki. 

*****

At April’s apartment...

Raph drilled the last screw on the ceiling and stepped back on the ladder a bit. 

“There, that should keep the fan from falling down again,” he tapped the ceiling and fan with a drill in hand. 

April sighed, her hands on her hips. “Thanks, Raph.” 

A few thuds from above resonated, followed by a cloud of dust. The cloud cleared after a moment to reveal the fan having fallen on top of Raph, who groaned.

April groaned in frustration. “Not again! My stupid neighbor.” 

“Your neighbor keeps knocking the fan down?” Raph perked his head up at her. 

“Yeah, it’s driving me crazy!” April explained as more thuds echoed over them. “Usually, it’s just a lot of clip-clopping, but lately, it sounds like a dinosaur on a trampoline.” 

“Oh no, no, no, no, no,” Raph shook his head, narrowing his eyes. “You can’t have that. I’m gonna go set this guy straight.” 

Later, Raph stood near the door of April’s neighbor with his fists on his hips. 

“Now, don’t make a scene. You’re not going to make a scene. You gonna make a scene? Don’t make a scene,” April reminded him. 

“Raphael doesn’t make a scene,” Raph motioned to himself. “He’s just going to politely give the new tenant his perspective on the noise situation. And to make sure that neighbor is not scared...” 

He pulled out a mask from behind him and placed it over his face. “A disguise.” 

From behind the neighbor’s door, Raph knocked on it. “Excuse me, kind neighbor, I was hoping to have a friendly word with you about...” 

“I told you, Carol, I do not want to meet your daughter,” a familiar figure walked up to the door and opened it. 

Raph gasped in fright, his eyes widening, as April peeked around the corner. 

Draxum stared at them both in shock. He was dressed in a bathrobe and slippers and is holding a coffee cup in hand. 

“Baron Draxum?!” Raph exclaimed, pulling the mask off of him. 

He rammed into Draxum and pinned him down on the floor. “I don’t know what kind of evil plan you’re up to, but…” 

“My haunches! Get off me!” Draxum demanded. 

He shoved Raph off of him and got back up on his feet. He roared and extended his hand towards Raph, who braced himself for the first attack. 

His grunts were strained as he tried to summon his bones against the snapper turtle. 

“Stand back!” He grunted. 

However, Draxum was only able to lift a small vine from the floor before it shriveled and fell forward. He glanced up back at Raph and blinked. 

“Raph, what are you doing?” Mikey asked him. 

Raph turned around and found him in a dinosaur costume on a trampoline. Mizuki was sitting on the couch, her arms folded across her chest. 

“Mikey? Mizzy? What are you guys doing here?” Raph asked them back. 

“Dinosaur Trampoline always cheers you up, so I thought I’d try it on Baron Draxum,” Mikey explained as he jumped up and down on the trampoline. 

“I do feel my confusion being replaced by joy,” Raph said, beaming a bit. 

“Not me. Mikey, why the heck are you helping Baron Draxum?” April shoved Raph aside and gestured to Draxum agitated. 

“Baron Draxum needs the help of no one!” Draxum yelled. 

“Oh, really? When I found you, were you or were you not living on the street?” Mikey countered. 

In a flashback, Draxum sat on the sidewalk with a sign next to him. He had a blanket wrapped around to keep him dry from the rain as people walked by. 

“Maybe,” Draxum said glumly. 

“Powerless because your soul got sucked out by the Dark Armor. Wanted for crimes in the Hidden City. And who set you up in style?” Mikey outstretched his arms to gesture to the apartment area. 

Draxum sighed and rolled his eyes. “Dr. Positive.” 

“That’s right, Dr. Positive,” Mikey leaped up next to him and wrapped an arm around him. “The one who’s gonna turn you from bad guy to glad guy. From sad heap to happy sheep. From devil to A-level, baby!” 

“Mikey.” 

Mikey stopped and glanced at Mizuki, who got up from the couch. 

“You do realize that it’s going to be a hard challenge, don’t you?” She asked him. “He’s been hating humans for as long as he lived. There’s nothing that could get him to change his mind.” 

“Mikey! What are you thinking?!” Raph grabbed Mikey by the front of the costume. “Draxum is the enemy of the Mad Dogs, and you know Mizzy’s right!” 

“But he’s also the one who created us, and that makes him family,” Mikey said. “And once he feels like he’s a part of our family, his goodness will shine.” 

Draxum only sagged slightly as he held his robe. 

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I ever...” Raph started. 

A knock on the door cut him off before he could even finish. 

“Oh, great, they’re here!” Mikey gasped with delight. 

Leo, Donnie, Splinter, and Hallie both burst through the door, smiling widely. 

Donnie was dressed in a vest with a tie and pants of his colors, Leo dressed in the same attire like him but in his own color. Splinter was holding a dish and is dressed up in a yellow vest with pants. Hallie, meanwhile, is wearing a light gray blouse, miniskirt, tights, and shoes. 

“Happy house-warming, Mr. and Mrs. O’Ne...” Splinter stammered when he saw Draxum standing there. 

“What is this?!” He yelled in anger and pointed at him. “I thought we were finally meeting April’s parents!” 

“No, apparently, we’re helping Baron Draxum get his groove back,” April slid up next to the four, her arms folded across her chest. 

“Called it,” Leo smirked. 

Donnie sagged and pulled out a few dollars from his pocket. Leo, still smirking, took the two dollars from his hand. 

“You mean to tell me I’ve spent two hours getting myself ready for this?” Hallie nearly exclaimed. 

“Yeah, sorry you had to see this,” Mizuki shrugged at her. 

“Oh, no!” Splinter raised the dish up over his head. “I do not make my famous green bean casserole for my mortal enemy!” 

He went to throw them, only for Mikey to grab it and hold it away from him. 

“Whoa, whoa, he’s not our mortal enemy anymore,” he said as the others stared at him unamused. “He’s family! And once he gets some of those warm and fuzzy family feels, it’ll crack that icy shell, and we’ll be knee-deep in sunshine.” 

Everyone in the room glanced at one another in uncertainty. 

*****

As thunder crashed, the two guards with their canines searched the baseball stadium for any sign of Draxum and Mizuki. 

One of the dogs sniffed Draxum’s vine and the marks where Mizuki had shot at. Another lightning flash revealed the two guards’ true forms. 

*****

The mutants and human girls ate their dinner in tense silence. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, apart from their quest chewing. 

Splinter gazed at Draxum with quiet hate as he ate his green bean casserole. Draxum glared back at him and groaned quietly. 

Donnie ate his food while April sipped on her cup, trying to find a way to break the tense silence. 

“Isn’t this nice? When’s the last time we all got together like this, huh?” Mikey asked, breaking the quiet. 

“The time Draxum dropped me off a building?” Leo asked back. 

“No, actually, I think it was when he ambushed us at the botanical garden and gave Mizuki that scar on her back, nearly killing her,” Donnie answered. 

“No, no, baseball stadium,” Raph shook his head. “Dark armor, tried to destroy humanity.” 

“I believe it was both those times and when we confronted him down at the Grand Central Station,” Mizuki said. 

“That’s right. Good times,” Mikey smiled, his arm wrapped around Draxum’s neck. 

The latter pushed him back a bit as he chewed. 

“Would somebody please pass the creamed corn?” Splinter asked. 

Mizuki looked around the table to find nothing but the food they had cooked. “Um, I don’t believe we have any creamed corn here.” 

“Well, I figured the guy who turned me into a rat...” Splinter calmly said. 

“Could just mutate the potatoes into creamed corn!” He suddenly yelled, slamming his knife on the table. 

“Dad! We are here for a nice family dinner, not to fight over who mutated who,” Mikey scolded his father. 

“No, no, he’s right,” Draxum cut in. “If I had my powers, I could create the most loathsome creamed corn beast ever seen! ‘Fear King Corn!’ Those fool humans would shriek in terror!” 

“‘Fool humans’?” April said, a bit offended. “With Mizuki, Hallie, and I as humans here, we take offense at that.” 

Mizuki and Hallie both nodded in agreement. 

“But why? You are fools. You put sunglasses on your dogs, you take photos of your food, and do not get me started on Carol,” Draxum argued. 

“Well, we’re not stupid enough to jump into a suit of dark armor without reading the owner’s manual first,” Hallie smirked.

Mizuki stifled a giggle as April high-fived her. “Nice.” 

“Draxibald, what you need is to spend some quality time with humans, so you can see why we like them so much,” Mikey told Draxum. 

“And I know just where to do it,” he then held up a flyer of the rebuilt Albeartland theme park. “Who’s coming with me and Draxum to Albeartoland?” 

Everyone in the room turned away, trying to avoid Mikey’s gaze. Raph was unlucky as the youngest turtle held up his arm. 

“Huh, why me?” Raph gasped shocked. 

“I wish you good luck with this, my love,” Donnie whispered to her. 

“Thanks for that,” Mizuki mumbled back. 

*****

At Albeartoland...

Raph, Mikey, and Mizuki stood in the line for a ride, with Draxum standing behind them. Raph is wearing a gray-white hoodie, shorts, and sweatpants. Mikey is dressed up in an orange hoodie, while Mizuki is wearing her outwear from the Times Square encounter. Draxum, meanwhile, has a fabric covering his head and is wearing a long coat. 

A child swung around on the handlebar and laughed as he kicked Draxum in the legs repeatedly. 

He suddenly grabbed the child and held him up close to his face. “Stop kicking me! Where is your mother? I’ll have her fed to wolves!” 

“Not sure your plan is working, Mikey,” Raph mumbled to Mikey. 

“Stay Dr. Positive, Raph,” Mikey smiled as the kid kicked Draxum in the face, prompting him to release him. 

The child then leaped on his back, but Draxum caught him and held him up in the air. 

“You wretched cur, I will splay you in twain!” He roared angrily. 

He went to throw him, only to stop and find Mizuki holding the child safely in her arms. 

“Draxum, you must understand,” she calmly told him and set the child down. “Children can be rowdy at times. They love to jump, grab, and hang...” 

The child ran back to Draxum and kicked him in the leg again before running off laughing. 

“And kick,” Mizuki finished. 

“Ah, look, we’re next,” Mikey asked excitedly, wrapping an arm around Draxum’s neck. 

He, with Raph on the other side of him, and Mizuki both walked into the bumper car ride. 

“Time for the fun to begin, baby!” Mikey exclaimed. 

“Stop it! I can’t move!” Draxum yelled as a few kids repeatedly hit his car while Mikey, Raph, and Mizuki passed him on their own cars. “Do not hit me! Leave me alone, human larva!” 

*****

Back in the apartment room, the two guards and their dogs searched the now empty for any signs of Draxum and Mizuki. The dogs ate the food, with the one guard sitting at the table. 

He noticed something on the table and picked it up, handing it to his partner. 

The other guard took it and studied the Albeartoland flyer. 

*****

“Mm, mm, mm...there is nothing better than human funnel cake,” Mikey said as he ate his funnel cake. 

Raph and Mizuki ate theirs, with Draxum walking ahead of them. 

“Which part of the human is it made from?” Draxum asked as he studied his funnel cake. 

“No, what he means is, they are made by humans, not from them,” Mizuki reminded him, walking next to him. 

Draxum groaned in disgust and threw it over his shoulder. 

The funnel cake landed on the ground, only to be stomped on by someone’s foot. 

Draxum popped a balloon that a little girl is carrying as he walked by them, and Mizuki stayed behind a bit to catch up with Raph and Mikey. 

“See what I mean, Mikey?” Raph told his youngest brother. “This guy’s never gonna like humans. There’s no way a being with an ounce of good in them throws funnel cake on the ground.” 

“Dr. Positive is becoming Dr. Slightly Disappointed,” Mikey said, hanging his head low. 

“You’re doing everything you have, Michelangelo,” Mizuki reassured him, placing her hand on his shoulder. 

They suddenly bumped into Draxum from behind and grunted. They were about to ask him about stopping, but followed his eye of direction and nearly shrunk back.

“Draxum and human girl,” the first guard said to Draxum and Mizuki. “By order of the Council of Heads...” 

He, with his canine, formed to their Yokai forms as they glared down at Draxum and Mizuki. “You are under arrest!” 

The guard fired a shot at Draxum and Mizuki. 

The two turtles and Draxum, who quickly grabbed Mizuki, leaped out of the way, and the shot fired across the harbor, hitting something. 

The crowd screamed and started running for their lives. 

“Uh, Draxum, aren’t those your boys?” Raph asked. 

“No, they are bounty hunters loyal to the one with the most coin,” Draxum replied. 

“Uh, would they back off for 27 cents and a button?” Mikey held up some coins and a button from his hoodie pockets. 

Mizuki stared at him deadpanned. 

“You can try. Tell me how it goes,” Draxum said. 

When they turned around, they saw him running off in the opposite direction. 

“Oh, for the love of God,” Mizuki mumbled in Japanese and started after him. 

The bounty hunter charged at her and Draxum, passing the two turtles. 

Draxum panted as he ran, but when he looked ahead of him, the other bounty hunter was waiting for him behind the dust cloud. 

“Huh?” Draxum stopped in his tracks, as well as Mizuki. 

They both looked from behind and in front of them to find the two guards on the opposite sides of them. Their canines growled as they stared them down. 

“Raph, we gotta stop those guys!” Mikey said with determination. 

“Why? Isn’t he just getting what he deserves?” Raph asked him. 

“He created us, Raph,” Mikey reasoned. “Without him, we wouldn’t even be here. And if he hadn’t captured Mizuki, Donnie wouldn’t have met her. He deserves another chance.” 

Raph stared at his youngest brother before glancing at the two guards, Draxum, and Mizuki. 

He sighed and placed his hand on Mikey’s shoulder. “Ah, I hate to say it, but sometimes, Dr. Positive makes a lot of sense.” 

The two guards charged at Draxum and Mizuki on their canines, ready for the attack.

“Oh!” Mikey used his kusari-fundo to grab the one bounty hunter.

He threw him off his canine and swung him to the ground. 

Draxum and Mizuki turned their attention towards the other bounty hunter, who fired his weapon at the two. 

Raph instantly stepped in front of them and held off the shot with his tonfa arms. When he pushed it away, the shot flew to the Ferris wheel. 

“You saved me? Why?” Draxum asked, amazed. 

“I’m still trying to get used to this,” Raph replied to him and looked over his shoulder at him. “But Mikey thinks you’re part of the family. And rule number one of the Mad Dogs code is, you take care of family.” 

They heard screaming from the Ferris wheel and saw a car about to drop from above. 

“Oh, no,” Mizuki gasped. 

“You guys hold off the bounty hunters!” She turned to Raph and Draxum. “I’ll go get them!” 

Before they could even answer, she sped off towards the wheel as fast as she could. She leaped from the ground and sailed towards the wheel car. 

Mizuki landed on the roof of the car and opened the door. She found a mother hugging her daughter close. 

“Are you two alright?” Mizuki asked them. 

The mother nodded hurriedly. 

The car tilted back suddenly, prompting the mother and child to scream. 

Mizuki held onto the railing and extended her hand down towards the earth. An electric-green slide formed from her palm and reached the ground below. 

“This way! Quickly!” Mizuki called. 

The mother, with her child safe in her arms, rushed towards Mizuki and took her hand. 

Just as she was able to get the two to safety, her foot instantly slipped, and she fell backward before she grabbed the window railing, screaming. 

Draxum turned his attention from the fight and saw Mizuki dangling from the car. He gasped before his eyes turned to determination. 

“You two stay here,” he told Raph and Mikey. “I’ll...” 

He groaned, yet finished the words. “Save your human friend.” 

He headed towards the Ferris wheel. 

“My sheep man!” Mikey cheered and dodged one of the bounty hunters’ attack. 

Draxum climbed up the Ferris wheel and finally reached the car. Mizuki looked up at him and gasped. 

“Draxum, what are you doing?” She asked him worriedly. 

He grunted and landed on the roof of the car. “I’ve come to get you, miss Mizuki.” 

One of the shots barely missed him. They both turned as the bounty hunter fired another shot at Draxum. 

The shot hit the car, and it finally fell towards the earth with Mizuki and Draxum. The blue-haired girl screamed as she plummeted down, only to be caught by Draxum. 

She glanced up and saw him holding onto another car of the Ferris wheel as long as he could. 

Raph took a moment to glance at Draxum and Mizuki before he avoided another shot from one of the bounty hunters. 

“Come on, Mikey. Let’s wrap this up,” he told Mikey. 

He nodded in agreement. 

Just as the two guards were about to go after Draxum and Mizuki, Raph and Mikey charged at them, their weapons ready. 

“Ba-boom!” Mikey hit one of the bounty hunters in the face. 

“Eat this!” Raph punched the other with his tonfa. 

The two guards and their canines landed on the ‘Ring-a-Bell’ attraction. 

“Whoo!” Raph grabbed the line of the kusari-fundo and laughed. 

“Fires-smashing combo whip!” Mikey shouted and swung his brother around before he flew them towards the platform. 

Raph grunted as he hit the platform, sending the guards and canines flying. They hit the bell and sailed towards the moon, disappearing in a twinkle. 

“Whoo-hoo! Yeah!” Mikey cheered and jumped around. 

They heard Mizuki scream and noticed her and Draxum about to plummet to the ground. 

Draxum’s hand slipped from the car and fell down to the earth as Mizuki screamed. He held her close to him and extended his hand out towards the ground. 

When nothing happened, he tried again, and a vine slowly grew from the wooden ground. 

The people on the Ferris wheel gasped with terror. 

“Oh, my gosh,” Mikey exclaimed. 

Draxum roared and formed his hand to a fist…

And the vine shot up and caught Draxum and Mizuki in time. He shielded Mizuki in his arms upon the vine grabbing them both. 

His mask fell from his face and crashed to the floor, breaking into pieces. 

He looked up, opening his eyes, and spotted the crowd, including Raph and Mikey, cheering for him. Mizuki opened her eyes as well and sighed with relief. 

The vine lowered the two to the ground as the people kept on cheering. The child, who is being carried by her mother, kissed Draxum on the cheek, and he groaned in disgust. 

“Why must you touch me with your germ hole?” He asked her as they walked away.   
“She just wanted to thank you for saving me, and…” Mizuki paused when she saw his unmasked face. “Oh, your mask.” 

“There’s no need to fret about it,” Draxum told her. “There will be another one.” 

“Look at you! You saved Mizuki!” Mikey said. 

“And got a little bit of your powers back,” Raph added. 

Draxum only turned around to not face them. 

“So, change of heart?” Mikey smirked. “Maybe living among humans is not so horrible after all?” 

“Strongly disagree, but I suppose I might be able to tolerate them somehow,” Draxum answered. “Given that I have no choice.” 

“There’s the bare minimum!” Mikey exclaimed. 

“Well, in order for someone to live here, they must have a job as well,” Mizuki stated. 

“Yeah. Now what kind of gig would be perfect for someone who’s always angry, needs to be the boss, and hates humans?” Raph pondered. 

*****

At April’s school…

“Here is your nutrient mound,” Draxum, who is wearing a lunch attire, placed a student’s lunch in their tray. “Dismissed!” 

The kid nodded quickly and walked off. 

A line of kids moved a bit as the next student approached Draxum. 

“Well, this seems like it could backfire,” April remarked. 

“Come on, April, give him a chance,” Mikey encouraged her. “He’s perfect, and it’s great cover!” 

One of the students pushed another kid to the ground and laughed at him while pointing. 

“No hijinks in my line!” Draxum bellowed. 

A vine shot up and grabbed the bully before throwing him to the side. 

He laughed a bit and took another spoonful of the food to give to another student. “This will do.”


	64. Air Turtle

“Hot soup!” Leo soared into the air and slammed a basketball through the hoop. “Boom!” 

“Ugh.” 

“Aw, man.” 

“Every time, Leo.” 

The three turtles and Mizuki groaned, having lost another game to Leo. 

Raph and Mikey are dressed up in their attire from when they were out with Draxum to get him to appreciate humans, and Donnie was wearing his purple hoodie while scrolling through his phone. Leo is wearing a blue jersey, dark blue-grey hoodie, and blue shorts while wearing a pair of glasses. Mizuki is dressed up in a dark red jacket, light gray T-shirt, comprise leggings and sneakers. 

“Leon’s on fire tonight, people!” Leo gloated. 

Raph handed the basketball back to Leo, who was smirking smugly. 

“Next basket’s for the win,” Leo kept on smirking. 

“Mikey, Miz, D up,” Raph instructed Mikey and Mizuki. “Let’s shut his flashy blue face down.” 

Leo laughed, spinning the basketball around with his finger. “You can’t guard me.” 

He moved the basketball to his other hand by his arms and caught it. “Double me, I dare you.” 

“Leonardo, are you daring us to double you?” Mizuki glared at him, as Mikey and Raph narrowed their eyes. 

“No, I’m double-daring you to double me,” Leo challenged. 

“You did not just double dare us to double you!” Raph growled, fire burning in the background. 

“Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!” Leo moved the ball around in front of him as Raph and Mikey moved up on different sides of him. 

Mizuki crept up behind him, ready to make her attack. 

“Ah, I’m open! Transfer it!” Donnie yelled, his arms in the air. 

Leo laughed and dribbled the ball underneath him before he hit it with his arm. 

Donnie was unable to grab it in time, for he was hit in the face and fell to the ground. Leo leaped up and grabbed the ball midair. 

“Victory!” 

However, Mizuki leaped up in front of him and took the ball from his hands. Leo gasped and glanced up at his surprise attacker. 

Mizuki flipped in the air a few times before she landed on the ground with ease. She smirked smugly as she twirled the ball in her finger. 

“Not tonight, Leo,” she said. 

“Whoo-hoo! Nice shot, Mizzy!” Mikey cheered. 

Leo growled and charged at her. Mizuki stepped to the side and made her way for the other basketball hoop, dribbling the ball along the way. 

Unfortunately, she didn’t notice Leo disguising himself as the basketball hoop and was caught off guard when he instantly took the ball from her hands. 

“Hey! What the—“ Mizuki started and saw Leo speeding his way towards the other basketball hoop. 

“No!” Raph screamed and failed to catch the ball from Leo, who threw it over him. 

“No!” Mikey exclaimed as Raph gasped. 

The basketball circled over the hoop a few times until it fell through. 

Donnie sighed in annoyance, placing his hand under his chin, as the ball bounced past him. 

“Sorry, DonTon. I gotta win,” Leo beamed smugly as he danced around. “Tried losing once. Wasn’t for me.” 

“Win at all costs. Boom!” He then moved his arms around to both sides numerous times. “Catchphrase win!” 

Raph growled while holding the ball. “This happens every time.” 

“Not the dancing. Anything but the dancing!” Mikey wailed. 

“Let’s just get going,” Mizuki scoffed, rolling her eyes. “We’ll leave him to his victory dancing.” 

As the four other teens left Leo, Raph tossed the basketball over his shoulder. 

“I’m the best, I’m the best. I’m the best, I’m the best...” Leo sang and kept on dancing around. 

As he did so, the basketball bounced off the court and into the darkness for a few seconds. Someone caught it from the dark and tossed it towards the basketball hoop. 

Leo stopped when he saw the ball fall through the hoop perfectly. “What?” 

A man laughed from behind him, clapping his hands. “Nice moves, man.” 

When Leo turned around, a man with neon blue hair was waking up to him. He is wearing a brown vest, black shirt, red pants, and sneakers. Gold accessories covered his neck and wrists. 

Leo gasped when he recognized him. “Are you all-star player turned billionaire, owner slash coach, slash recording artist Tim Dunkman?!” 

“Call me The Dunk,” the man smirked. “I saw those sweet dance moves, and I got a business proposition for you. It’s no secret that my team stinks. They’re losers. You know what? I couldn’t buy a sack of nickels with any of ‘em.” 

“A sack of what?” Leo asked confused. 

“You know what?” The Dunk wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “I like the pep of your pizza, and the squeaks of your sneaks. How’d you like to be—“ 

“Your new power forward who makes the winning dunk in game seven?” Leo asked as he imagined himself in a red team jersey and shorts about to make a score. 

“No, of course not,” The Dunk slammed the imaginary ball from Leo’s hands. “You’re just a random guy with oddly green skin playing in the park. What I need is someone to get my crowd hype, to get my team hype. I need you to be the mascot for my New York Daves.” 

Leo thought about what he had told him before he beamed. “Still great! Wait, I thought you were called the Vipers.” 

The Dunk huffed when he remembered how he got the current team name. 

In the basketball stadium, there were only a few people in the auditorium as The Dunk stood with a stout man in the area. 

“Congratulations! You have won our contest to rename the team!” The Dunk exclaimed to the stout man. “What’s it gonna be? Dragons, Dunkers?” 

He held the microphone to the man, who blinked. 

“I’m Dave,” he replied. 

“Dave, Dave, Dave, Dave, Dave!” The little crowd chanted. 

“What do you say?” The Dunk held out his hand for Leo to shake. 

“I’m in!” Leo answered. 

*****

Leo placed the head of the Daves mascot on him as he stood in the basketball stadium. “Let’s go!” 

The rival basketball team sped past him as the game began. 

For a few nights, the Daves kept losing every game, and The Dunk was getting agitated by the losses. Nevertheless, Leo kept dancing during the games. 

The Dunk rubbed his forehead in agitation as his team walked towards the locker rooms after another failed game. 

“Mr. The Dunk, I’m so sorry. I’m doing my best out there,” Leo apologized to him. 

“It’s not your fault. It’s these losers,” The Dunk said. 

“Have you ever thought—“ Leo started, but faltered. “Never mind.” 

“Don’t hold out on The Dunk, kid,” The Dunk urged. “What you got?” 

“Well, one time I was in a rut,” Leo began. 

“But I found a lucky rock,” he pulled out a little rock from his mascot pocket. “Next thing you know, no more rut!” 

“So what’s so special about that rock?” The Dunk asked him. 

“It’s not about the rock. It’s about changing your mojo,” Leo told him. 

“So you’re saying—“ The Dunk pondered, rubbing his chin. 

“You need to do whatever it takes to change your mojo,” Leo finished, walking off. 

“And you do that by—“ 

“Whatever it takes,” Leo, who got into The Dunk’s face, interrupted him. 

*****

The next night at the stadium…

The three turtles, April, Mizuki, and Hallie, who is dressed in a light grey shirt, pants, pearl white jacket, and sneakers, sat at the stadium seats unamused. Leo leaped up to them in his Daves mascot costume. 

“You guys are in luck,” he told them and pulled off the mascot head. “I’m breaking out my new victory dance once we win tonight.” 

“Yeah, right,” Raph denied. 

“Whatever makes you happy,” Mizuki scoffed, her arms folded. 

“Trust me. I’m on the inside,” Leo turned to them, still smiling. 

“As a mascot?” April laughed. 

“More of a consultant who wears a costume and fires a T-shirt cannon,” Leo corrected her. “The Dunk listens to me.” 

Meanwhile, in the locker rooms…

“We haven’t won a game all season,” The Dunk began, his back turned to his small team. 

“But that changes tonight,” he turned to them determined. “Because you’ve got something no one else has.” 

“Heart?” One of the basketball players suggested. 

“No, me, an eccentric billionaire willing to do whatever it takes to win,” The Dunk corrected. 

“…Including purchasing an ancient good luck arch that will change our losing mojo to winning mojo.” 

The camera changes to an arch with a skull in the middle and wings on each side. 

“My arch is gonna turn you wannabes into are-bes!” The Dunk exclaimed. 

“Andy, put that on my next album,” he said through his phone. 

“Now let’s go win!” 

*****

The opponent basketball team stood on their side of the basketball court. 

“Those guys are gonna whoop the Daves,” Raph pointed at them. 

“No kidding. They look so tough,” Mizuki agreed. 

The buzzer rang, and Leo slid into the court, clad in his costume. 

“Yeah, let’s go!” He started dancing around. “Shmoo, shmoo! Come on, let me hear you!” 

The referee nodded his head and laughed through the whistle. 

Leo laughed as he shot numerous shirts from a T-shirt cannon. Most of them landed on the contestant, who popped out from underneath the pile. 

“Heads up, Hallie!” Leo called and shot a T-shirt in the other direction. 

Hallie, despite being moody about his attitude, caught the shirt in her hands and sat back down. 

“Well, he’s still a gentleman,” she sighed, smiling a bit. 

Mizuki beamed a little in agreement. 

“I’m Dave! Get loud!” Leo said through a megaphone on one of the opponent players’ shoulders. 

There was silence in the court, a man’s snoring only breaking the quiet. The lights turned off, a few spotlights moving around the area. 

“And now, the starting lineup for your New York Daves!” 

Lightning boomed on the mystic archway. 

The Daves began to enter the basketball court, only to sag and groan once they walked through the archway. 

“Yeah, let’s go! Come on!” Leo kept on dancing in his mascot costume, unknowing of the problem about to happen. “Let me hear you!” 

“Play ball!” The referee tossed the basketball in the air. 

One of the opponent team players caught it and dodged the sagging Daves with ease. 

The skull on the archway lit up with its eyes, the spell about to take effect. The Daves suddenly perked up with lit green eyes and creepy grins. 

Before the opposing player could make a dunk, one of the Daves crawled up to the basketball hoop and caught the basketball with his mouth. He then jumped off the hoop and shot the ball towards another player. 

The latter dribbled the ball around, the speed increasing and the opposing players unable to catch it, and shot it to a different player. 

After the two other Daves dribbled the ball around in strange ways, the basketball landed on their hoop, earning a score. 

The opponent team stared at them uneasily. 

The turtles and girls gazed at the event wide-eyed and confused. 

Leo and The Dunk also gawked at them until they suddenly erupted in cheers. “Yeah!” 

As the Daves kept on scoring, they became more stranger and stranger by every win. Leo paid no mind to it as he kept on dancing at each score. 

With four minutes left, the Daves have already scored 48 points. 

Mizuki and Hallie noticed the arch glowing and lightning bolts leaving from the skull. 

“Mizzy, does that arch seem strange to you?” Hallie asked her friend uncomfortably. 

“Leo, are you noticing anything weird going on with the team?” Raph called out to Leo. 

“Yeah, they’re awesome,” Leo answered, not seeing the strange occurrence about to happen. “That arch must really be working. My idea.” 

Donnie donned on his goggles and turned towards the archway. “Yeah, Dave, is it? That arch is severely mystic.” 

“That would explain why they’re so creepy and not human,” Mikey added. 

Mizuki and Hallie turned back towards the basketball court, only to gasp upon seeing the Daves turning to different yokai demons. 

“Boys and girls, looks like this trip just went from personal to business,” Raph said as he and the other teens stood in their battle positions. 

“Hey! You’re all just jealous that once I joined the Daves, they went from losers to Leos, which means winners,” Leo stated to them.

“Well, now they went from Leos to crazy man-attacking demons,” Hallie said and turned him towards the basketball court. 

Leo screamed in terror when he saw the entire outcome. 

The Daves, who now became demonic warriors, attacked the opposing team with their own powers. The referee blew his whistle at one of them, only to be grabbed and flown across the basketball court. 

“That’s not good,” Leo stated, having taken off the mascot head. 

“That is so good!” The Dunk exclaimed excitedly. 

The referee hit the basketball hoop and called for halftime. 

“Yes!” The Dunk laughed as his team made their way back to the benches. 

“Uh, sir Dunk, I think we may have accidentally bought an evil arch that may or may not have possessed your players,” Leo nervously said to The Dunk. 

“Who cares? They’re winning!” The Dunk said, his team players turning towards him and Leo. “Look, I can’t thank you enough. Winning tastes so good!” 

Leo groaned uncomfortably. 

He skidded back to the others, who paid no mind to him for a moment. Placing the mascot head on the ground, he scooted up to them a bit. 

“So about that arch thingy…” he began. 

“Ya think?” Mikey glared at him. 

“That is why I’ve called an expert on all things mystic,” Donnie added, his phone close to his head. 

“Ugh, point me at the idiot.” 

When Donnie showed the phone to Leo with his robo arms, Draxum, who was mixing something in a bowl, glared at him. “Do you know what you’ve done?!” 

“What? Uh—“ Leo was cut off when one of the robo arms turned his face towards the mystic arch. 

“That is the arch of Aquinnah,” Draxum explained while enraged. “Whoever walks under it is turned into, oh, I don’t know, a demonic warrior!” 

“Oh, yeah that makes sense,” Leo said. “Without admitting any fault, there may have been some signs.” 

4 hours earlier…

Miniature yokai played rock and roll on the archway as flames burned in the background. 

“Power to all who cross under me!” The arch yelled. 

Leo chuckled nervously and shrugged. 

“Is there any way we can free the Daves from the curse?” Mizuki asked Draxum. 

“Yes, in order to reverse the power of the arch is to defeat its demons in battle,” he told her.

“Ah, yes, so in this case, a game of baské ball,” Donnie stated. 

The others stared at him perplexed. 

“Donnie, I know you know how to say it,” Raph narrowed his eyes at him as Donnie sweated nervously. “We’re all onto you.” 

“Okay, what’s the plan? There’s gotta be a good plan,” Hallie questioned as the teens, apart from Leo, gathered around. 

“Let me in,” Leo bounced up and down in order to get into the circle. “You need a full team.” 

“Look, Leo, we need to work as a team,” Raph said while glaring at him. “Take your win-at-all-costs back to your boy Dunk.”

“Hey!” Leo said and dove right in between Raph and Mizuki, getting out of the mascot costume in the process. 

“You’re right.”

“Huh?” The teens all gasped and turned to Leo. 

The spotlight fell on him as he was on his knees with his hands in a pleading position. “I’m sorry. That eccentric billionaire, who was kind of a surrogate father figure to me…” 

He stood up on the bleachers with the others staring at him skeptically. “Has shown me a version of myself I don’t like. I’ve been a ball hog, a bad teammate, the worst boyfriend, and worst of all, I’ve been a…” 

He retched before he could even finish the sentence. 

“I’ve been a bad…” he retched again and held back the words that he would force to leave his mouth. 

“I’ve been a bad…” 

The three turtles and girls stared up at him with sparkling eyes about to burst with tears. 

“I’m gonna say it,” Leo began again. 

“I’ve been a bad…” He gibbered for a moment until he finally got to say the sentence completely. “Brother! Brother! I’ve been a bad brother!” 

The words ‘Redemption!’ appeared behind him over the bleachers. 

The others gazed at him with wide grins and teary eyes. 

“Aww!” They all said and wrapped Leo, who jumped down from the bleachers, in a group hug. 

“You do know how to put words together!” Hallie said, nuzzling her face against his cheek affectionately. 

“Let’s be ballers,” Raph then turned to the basketball court, with the others following his eye of direction, with determined grins. 

They then put on the opposing team attire and stepped up to the court, ready for another game. 

“Time to put your evil spirit back in the arch!” Leo stated to the demon yokai Daves. 

Donnie spun the basketball up in the air, and Leo leaped up and caught it before hitting it with his elbow. One of the team players got hit in the face, causing him to fall to the floor. 

“A bounce pass!” Leo smirked. 

As the ball flew, another yokai demon Dave tried to catch it, only for it to fly past him. Raph caught the ball and slammed it through the hoop. 

“Boomshakalaka!” 

The hit earned a point for the Knights. 

One of the yokai demon Daves dribbled the ball and was about to toss it to their hoop, but Leo turned to reveal himself behind the hoop and hit the ball away. 

April caught it and shot it to the Knights’ hoop, laughing in victory. “From downtown!” 

“Boom! Was your momma a house?” Mikey asked one of the yokai demon Daves as the latter dribbled the ball around. 

Mikey hit the ball away, grabbing it and running behind the Dave. “Because you’re putting up bricks!” 

He jumped off one of the Daves by the head, which made him yell in pain, and slammed the ball through the hoop. 

Mizuki stared down at some of the demon yokai Daves, who snarled as they approached her, while dribbling the basketball around. Before they could even catch her, though, she jumped up into the air, and the opposing team players ended up hitting one another in the heads. 

She grunted as she hit the ball through the hoop. 

By the time the timer got to three minutes and fifty-seven seconds, the Knights that the teens are in have already earned 120 points. 

The whistle blew, and The Dunk was mad that his team was losing. 

“Timeout!” He yelled as he stood under the mystical archway. “You know what? I gotta do everything myself!” 

The turtles and girls both gasped when The Dunk got affected by the archway. 

“No, don’t! You do not understand the dark power of the archway!” Mizuki cried to him. 

The Dunk refused to listen to her pleas, for he soon turned to a cyclops-goat-like yokai demon and growled when he felt the energy flow through his body. 

“The power!” He snarled. 

He landed behind Leo and Hallie and sneered at them. “It’s on, former employee I looked at like a surrogate son. Game on!” 

His team players roared as they charged at them. 

“Let’s go!” Leo cried. 

And the game was on once more. Only it wasn’t easier than they thought. 

With the newly dark power surging through him, The Dunk was able to knock the teens down with his new skills as a yokai demon. With each score, the Daves were getting closer to their victory as the timer counted down. 

Soon, the Daves scored 121 points, one in front of the Knights. 

“Timeout!” Leo said, and the whistled blew. 

“Ah, they’re too good,” Mikey said. “Maybe we just need to accept we’re under arch rule now.” 

“We can’t give up now,” Mizuki stated. “If we don’t win this game, the Daves are going to be trapped under the arch’s curse forever.” 

“Yeah, we can do this,” Leo pulled Mikey in near him. “I’ve got an idea.” 

“Donnie, you ready to win this thing?” He glanced at Donnie. 

“You’re just gonna bounce-throw it off my head again, aren’t you?” The purple-wearing turtle skeptically asked him. 

“No, they’re expecting me to take the last shot,” Leo replied. “That’s why you’re gonna do it.” 

“Me?” Donnie asked shocked. 

The others gasped as well. 

Donnie held the basketball in his hands and shot it towards the hoop. “Rain dance!” 

The ball only bounced off the basketball hoop. 

“And boom goes the Donnie-mite!” He shot it again, an image of an explosion in the background. 

The ball once again bounced off the board in another direction. 

He was able to slam it through a hoop was closer to his height. 

“Game, blouses,” he smirked victoriously and folded his arms. 

He was actually in a kids’ park, where a few younger kids stared at him perplexed. 

“Are we sure about this?” Mikey asked worriedly. 

“Leo, I’m not sure about this,” Hallie added. “I mean, what if he messes up, and…we won’t be able to save the Daves?” 

“What, what?” Donnie stammered nervously. 

“Yes,” Leo answered. 

“Mm?” 

“I believe in you. You got this,” Leo placed his hand on his soft-shell brother. 

“Your confidence is giving me confidence,” Donnie beamed at him with wide eyes. 

“Team on three,” Leo held his hand out in the middle, followed by the others. 

“One, two, three…” 

“Team!” They all cheered, throwing their hands in the air. 

The buzzer chimed, leaving only ten seconds left on the board. 

The Daves growled as they stood in front of their opponents. Leo was handed the basketball by the referee, who blew the whistle to start the game again. 

Donnie gave him a thumbs-up while winking. 

Leo slammed the ball against his palm.

“Ah, run!” Donnie screamed and ran in another direction. 

The Dave team player started after him, only to be punched by Raph. 

“A bounce pass!” Leo threw the basketball underneath The Dunk. 

The ball landed in Donnie’s hands, and The Dunk went to grab it from him. 

“Out of the way!” Donnie jumped up higher than The Dunk and tossed the ball towards the Knights’ hoop. “A drip-drop!” 

The Daves gasped when they saw the ball soaring. 

Everything began to feel like in slow-motion. The basketball soaring through the air, the contestant screaming his own name. 

Donnie exclaimed excitedly when he saw that he was going to win the game for his brothers and friends. 

The ball bounced off the basketball hoop board. 

“No!” Donnie cried. 

“Oh, my gosh!” Mikey exclaimed. 

April, Hallie, and Mizuki both gasped terrified. 

“Hot soup!” Leo took the ball and slammed it straight through the hoop, breaking the glass on the board in the process. 

The score on the Knights’ side changed to 122, with the buzzer chiming. The words ‘Knights Win!!’ appeared on the scoreboard. 

“No!” The Dunk exclaimed. 

Electricity began to crackle, and the Dunk and his team groaned as they began to return to their normal states. The archway powered down, and the lights surrounding it disappeared. 

“Whoo-hoo! It worked!” Hallie shouted happily, jumping around. 

“We did it!” Mizuki exclaimed, hugging her. 

Donnie groaned as he stared at Leo in disbelief. 

“Did you know he would miss?” Raph asked Leo. 

“Just because I became a team player doesn’t mean Donnie is magically good at basketball,” Leo handed Raph the ball and began to walk away. 

“Lucky rock, lucky rock,” Leo sang to himself as he tossed his lucky rock in the air. “Lucky rock…” 

The Dunk was about to leave without anyone noticing before Mizuki and Hallie, now back in their Mystic Protector attire, stood between him and the exit. They both had their arms folded and smirks on their faces. 

“Not so fast, Mr. The Dunk,” Mizuki said to him. “We only want to give you something before we let you go.” 

They drew their fists back, a ring on both their fingers, and punched The Dunk knocking him out.


	65. Pizza Puffs

Near the Flam-Bae restaurant in the back, Flambé munched loudly on some pizza puffs, while a familiar villain was busy working on something in his van. 

“These pizza puffs are amazing!” Flambé remarked. “Can I double my order?” 

“Certainly, Chef Flambé,” Meats Sweats, who is wearing a cloak to disguise himself, replied from his van. “Just give us a moment...” 

“I’m adding a special ingredient just for your clientele,” he added a mystic ingredient on the pizza puffs that he had pulled out from the oven. “Your restaurant is going to be the talk of the town.” 

“Sounds great, if I don’t eat them all myself,” Flambé ate another pizza puff and munched loudly. 

“Well, here they are, matey,” Meats Sweats held out a bag that contained the pizza puffs. “Guaranteed to slay with flavor.” 

“Not so fast, Sweats,” someone called from the rooftops. 

When Meats Sweats and Flambé glanced up, Raph staring down at the mutant with his hands on his hips. He is wearing a red cape that flowed behind him in the wind and a black jumpsuit. 

“Your mystic poison puffs are off the menu,” Raph jumped off from the rooftops and landed on Meats Sweats, forcing him to drop the pizza puffs. 

They scattered to the floor in front of Flambé. 

“Poison?!” Flambé gasped and reached for another. “But it’s so delicious—“ 

Another hand slapped his away from the fallen puffs before a foot belonging to Mizuki stepped in front of him. 

“The man, or rather mutant, is making you believe they are normal,” Mizuki said to him. “But the pizza puffs are incredibly dangerous!” 

Meats Sweats stood back up and raised his meat tenderizer to pummel Mizuki and Flambé. Raph instantly tackled Meats Sweats to the ground and knocked the tenderizer from his hands. 

“This isn’t a restaurant supplier,” Raph explained to Flambé. “It’s your old rival, Rupert Swaggart...” 

“Or should I say Meats Sweats?” He pulled off the hood of the cloak to reveal Meats Sweats’s face completely.

“First he lures you with delicious puffs, then sells you poison ones to ruin your business,” he continued as Mizuki gathered up the pizza puffs while keeping Flambé away from them. 

“He was going to sell the ones that he poisoned to ruin his old chef rivals and their businesses as well,” Mizuki added. “That’s why we had to step in.” 

She saw Flambé about to eat another one and quickly slapped it away, sending the puff to the garbage cans. 

“Did you not hear us? They’re poison!” She lectured him. 

“Hey, where’d he go?” Raph gasped when he saw that Meats Sweats wasn’t under his hold anymore. 

They saw him in his food truck and the pig mutant glaring at them from the driver window. 

“Yes, and I’d have gotten away with it, if not for you, you pesky turtle and little girl!” He shouted at them before driving off. 

“The Red Angel of Preventing Harm and Green Lightning save the day,” Raph proudly stood with his hands on his hips. 

“Well, no thanks to your brothers who once again decided to pass on the mission,” Mizuki remarked and went to pick up a fallen puff. 

Flambé took it before she could pick it up and chuckled nervously once he was face to face with her. She stared at him unimpressed before drawing back her fist, which had the same ring on her finger, and knocked him out cold. 

“Hey, what’s up with the ring?” Raph asked her, gesturing to the ring. 

“Just something us Mystic Protectors have,” Mizuki replied. “We use it to make sure someone who sees us forget that we were here.” 

“Ah...” Raph nodded understanding. 

*****

“Hello?” Raph called as he and Mizuki entered the lair with the puffs over his shoulder. “Anyone gonna thank Raph and Mizzy for saving New York? By themselves? Again? While everyone else was asleep and not helping?” 

Silence only greeted them in reply. 

“Yeah, that’s what we thought,” Raph and Mizuki said in unison. 

Raph opened the cabinet door and placed the bag of pizza puffs in there. 

“We’re going to have Donnie analyze these in the morning if there’s any more out there that Meats Sweats has made,” Mizuki stated. 

“Got that right,” Raph agreed as he wrote ‘Danger: Do Not Eat’ with red skulls on the bag. 

“If he bothers to wake up,” he added while placing police tape on the cabinet door. 

He yawned and stretched his back. “I’m gonna hit the sack. G’night, Mizzy.” 

“Same to you,” Mizuki called to him before leaving the lair. 

*****

The next morning…

“Morning, Raph,” Mizuki said, beaming a bit as she walked into the kitchen. “Any trouble sleeping at all?” 

“After last night’s mission? Not one,” Raph replied and opened the cabinet door. 

However, they saw that the bag containing the pizza puffs was gone. 

“What?!” He exclaimed enraged. 

“Donnie...” Mizuki growled under her breath. 

Down in the living room, the other brothers had already eaten the pizza puffs and are now enjoying the aftertaste. 

“Mm, delicious,” Leo remarked with a pizza puff in hand. 

“As you know, I don’t normally express emotion, but...” Donnie shouted excitedly. “That’s good!” 

“It’s like a thousand angels blessed each of my taste buds!” Mikey said, weeping with joy, as angels mentioned beforehand blew horns in the background. 

At that moment, Raph and Mizuki both barged into the living room, scaring the three turtles. Donnie fell off the box he was sitting on upon hearing their sudden entrance. 

“Guys! What are you doing?!” Raph asked them. 

“Those things have mystic poison! I clearly wrote, ‘Danger. Do Not Eat’,” he held up the back with the words written. 

“Do you not realize the dangers you have put yourself into?! Now you’ve doomed yourselves all because of the delicacy of those puffs!” Mizuki shouted at them, her left eye twitching. 

Leo laughed, unfazed by his brother and Mizuki’s anger. “We didn’t fall for that old chestnut.” 

“Selfish Raph trying to keep us from eating his pizza puffs,” Mikey smirked. 

“What? Raph doesn’t lie,” Raph protested. 

“Oh, really? How about when you tell us training starts an hour earlier because you know we’re always late, hmm?” Donnie slid up next to him with his arms folded. 

“Or when you told Mikey that if he doesn’t take out the trash, a trash monster will eat him in his sleep?” Leo slid up to him next. 

“I only do that because you guys are irresponsible,” Raph reasoned with them. “Mizzy and I can’t trust you to do simple stuff.” 

“Exactly, like going for a mission...” Mizuki added as she gestured to a mission chart with her name and the boys’ names and stars. 

“And not eat poison!” She finished by yelling at Donnie and Mikey, who cowered fearfully when she stepped up to them. 

“What poison? I don’t feel anything,” Leo said. 

“Meats Sweats put a mystic toxin in...” Raph started as he faced him. 

He and Mizuki both stopped short when they both noticed Leo sweating like crazy. 

“Are you sweating?”

“Yeah, a little, but only because my hand is on fire,” Leo held his hand up to reveal that it’s on fire the color of blue. 

He placed it on his forehead, and the flame disappeared. 

“See? Right as rain,” Leo smiled. 

The flame returned on his palm, and he shivered a bit before smiling again. 

“Typical, overprotective Raph and Mizzy,” Mikey said while Raph and Mizuki both faced him. 

“Worried about nothing,” he continued, even when his neck turned to the side on its own. 

Raph and Mizuki both gasped terrified as he fell to the floor against his will. 

Raph yelled and pointed at his calm, yet helpless younger brother, with Mizuki covering her mouth in terror. “See?! It got you, too!” 

“What? Just a little case of jelly bones?” Mikey asked nonchalantly, his arm up in the air for a moment before falling back down. “I’ll be fine.” 

“You know, come to think of it, I do have a bit of an upset stomach,” Donnie said, his finger tapping his chin. 

A sudden, harsh movement forced his belt to snap off. Raph and Mizuki both blinked stunned. 

“Maybe I didn’t get enough to eat,” Donnie smirked and reached for a fallen pizza puff. 

Mizuki was quick on her feet, for she suddenly sped at where he is and grabbed his wrist in time. 

“Don’t even try it, Donnie,” she warned him sternly. 

“Oh, yeah, gross. It’s been on the floor,” Donnie gently moved her hand away from his wrist. 

“And it’s poison!” Both Raph and Mizuki exclaimed. 

“Uh-huh, assuming we believe you guys,” Donnie picked up the pizza puff. “Color me skeptical, my goggles will spot any—“ 

However, when he pulled down his goggles, he gasped surprised when he saw the mystic poison hidden in the puff. “Whoa! That is a lot of mystic! Okay, I better analyze this puff and see if I can whip up an antidote.” 

“Now you’re talking sense,” Raph beamed proudly. 

“Oh, thank heavens,” Mizuki sighed relieved. 

“Or we take one last ride on the flavor train!” Leo said and made a train noise, with Mikey nodding in agreement. “Chugga, chugga, choo, choo!” 

Unfortunately, Donnie tossed the puff in the air before slicing it in thirds with his goggle lasers. The pieces then fell into the three turtles’ mouth. 

“No! That was our last chance to find a cure!” Raph exclaimed. “You’re gonna have jelly bones forever!” 

Mizuki shouted and cursed at them in Japanese as both Leo and Donnie shrunk back a bit from her sudden outbursts. 

“Relax. Raph and Mizzy’ll fix it,” Mikey reassured while slithering around Raph’s legs. 

“We’re Raph and Mizzy!” Raph pointed at him. 

“This is exactly the problem here!” Mizuki said enraged. “You expect me and Raph to solve everything, but we won’t be a stronger team unless you learn how to solve things on your own, and that starts right now today!” 

“That’s the spirit, Mizzy!” Raph beamed at her in agreement. “Now, who’s got an idea on how we can track down Meats Sweats and find an antidote?” 

Leo, still sweating insanely, scratched his neck before glancing back at the two. 

“Oh, you mean us?” He asked, gesturing to himself. 

“Yes!” Raph and Mizzy both shouted.

“Okay, fine. You know what?” Mikey slithered away from underneath Raph’s legs and back to the others. “My super tongue already found a clue.” 

“Super tongue? What?” Mizuki inquired surprised. 

“In that puff, I tasted a special flour only available at one Swedish bakery,” Mikey finished by sticking his tongue out at her and Raph while taunting them. 

“Great, Raph, Mizzy, check it out,” Donnie said before grabbing his stomach again. “And hurry up, ‘cause I think my stomach’s getting worse.” 

At that moment, a face with a mouth and eyes morphed itself on Donnie’s stomach and growled. 

Mizuki gasped, stepping back a bit. 

“Weren’t you listening? Mizzy and I are trying to teach you to solve things yourselves,” Raph argued. 

But the other boys were too busy with their sudden body changes. Leo jumping around as his head was on fire, Donnie’s stomach was growling loudly, and Mikey was already moving around like a snake. 

“All right, we’ll drive,” Raph and Mizuki both said together deadpanned. 

*****

The Tank drove up to the front of the Swedish bakery that Mikey had described. 

“You sure you want me to do this?” Leo asked as he shivered. “I don’t feel so hot.”

A blue flame popped up around his head. 

“Oh, there we go.” 

“If we need to know where Meats Sweats is, you’re going to get in there since you’re the team’s face man,” Mizuki urged him and gently shoved him towards the shop door. “Now get in there and do what you do best.” 

Leo groaned, rolling his eyes. 

He entered the store, and the man who was kneading the dough glanced up at him in suspicion. 

“Hey, buddy, I’m from the...Oh, I don’t know, Swedish Chef Awards, and I’m here to give some kind of...golden rolling pin. Nice,” Leo took a chef hat and placed it on his head, which doused the fire. “But I just need you to fill out a simple questionnaire. And anyway, hey, what’s—where’s Rupert Swaggart?” 

At the mention of the name and the golden pin, the chef gasped in delight and clasped his hands. “Ah, the coveted golden rolling pin!” 

“Sir Rupert’s address is written on a note under that stack of plates,” he gestured to a long pile of plates. “And if you’d just move them to the sink, I will retrieve it.” 

Leo, whose vision was getting blurry due to the poison from the puffs, only saw two stacks on each side. 

“The stack on the right or the left?” He asked the chef. “Never mind. I’ll get both.” 

He staggered for a moment as he headed towards the dishes. 

Loud crashing and dishes being broken resonated from inside the Swedish bakery as the other turtles and Mizuki winced from the loud noises. 

Raph rushed inside the bakery and gasped terrified. “What the—“ 

The chef shrieked and gaped with shock at the large mess that Leo had created unintentionally.

“So, about that address?” 

Both Raph and Leo were instantly thrown out of the bakery and fell to the ground after hitting the Tank, with Donnie, who is holding Mikey in a bowl, and Mizuki both avoiding them in time. 

“You can take the sweaty apron that Rupert Swaggart left behind!” The chef angrily threw a dirty apron on Leo before slamming the door shut. 

*****

Leo laid on the Tank’s floor with a blanket over him and fans blowing wind on his face. 

“What are we gonna do now?” Donnie asked, holding the apron. “All Leo got out of that chef was this sweaty apron.” 

The face of his stomach growled again. 

“Calm down, Tummytello. Calm down,” Donnie said. 

“Don’t worry,” Mikey stretched his neck up to Raph and Mizuki. “Raph and Mizuki are gonna bail us out like they always do.” 

At that statement, Mikey grabbed Mikey by the neck and pushed him back, a vein about to pop on her forehead. 

“We are Raph and Mizuki. And we are not bailing you out of this!” She sternly told him. 

“Ugh, these guys are lost without me,” Raph said to himself. “Maybe I should help them.” 

“Make them do it themselves,” the other side of him said. “It’s the only way they’ll learn.” 

“But they’re just kids.” 

“And you can make them men!” 

The other turtles and Mizuki stared at him perplexed. 

“Please tell me you didn’t eat those puffs as well,” Mizuki implied to him. 

“Tummytello hungry!” The stomach’s face reached for a puff that Leo had in his hands. 

Leo ate the pizza puff after he held it away from the stomach. 

“What?! You had more of those?!” Raph and Mizuki yelled at him. 

Leo gulped the pizza puff and crossed his arms. “No, that was the last one.” 

He took another puff and ate it. “Okay, that was the last one.” 

The blue flame burned around his head, and Mizuki facepalmed herself in the forehead. 

“Come on, guys, you can do this,” Raph encouraged them. “Is the apron a clue?” 

“Exactly,” Mizuki added. “Perhaps Donnie can try and work on it through his scientific theories.” 

“Why would I waste my time with fake science when I could just use the…” Donnie began smiling. 

“Smell-U-Lator?!” He cried triumphantly as he soared across the air with a parachute tied to him. 

He was tied to the Tank, which drove down the streets. He took a sniff of the apron with his Smell-U-Lator. 

“Meats Sweats is definitely to the east,” he called down to the others. 

Raph drove the Tank, with Leo groaning in the front seat and Mikey on the control console. Mizuki held onto the bars of the ceiling to steady herself. The Tank turned a corner as Donnie has instructed. 

“Ah, how fascinating and varied are the robust scents of New York City,” Donnie sighed before he instantly smelled a foul scent. “Oh, oh, no, not the garbage strike!” 

The scent his Smell-U-Lator caught was from a garbage strike down the street the Tank was driving in. 

His stomach’s face groaned with disgust from the scent. 

“These smells are upsetting Tummytello!” Donnie shouted to the others. “Turn!” 

Raph did as Donnie told him, turning to another street. 

“No, no, no! Cheese aging district!” 

Raph turned another corner again as Mikey slid across the console. 

“Ugh, sumo wrestling gym! Diaper cleaners!”

With Raph making every turn to avoid the foulest of smells, Leo was close to throwing up, and, unluckily for Mikey, the red-eared slider turned grabbed the bowl and retched into it with the youngest turtle still in it. 

“Leo!” Mikey cried. 

Donnie shook his head, groaning, after the sudden turns and perked up when he picked up a new scent. 

“There! To the marina!” 

*****

The Tank soon stopped at the docks, and Leo, Donnie, and Mikey headed towards the place where Meats Sweats would be. 

They hid behind some boxes, and Donnie sniffed with his Smell-U-Lator. 

“Meats Sweats’s stank seems to be coming from—“ he started. 

“Over there!” His stomach pointed at something. 

The three turtles peeked behind the boxes and found a boat with smoke rising from a little chimney. 

“Okay, Raph and Mizzy, time to smash your way aboard and make Meats Sweats give you the antidote,” Mikey smirked. 

“Ugh, Mikey, we’re in the Tank,” Raph called from Leo’s phone. “What part about solving these yourselves don’t you understand?” 

“Well, boys, it’s on us,” Leo said to the two others. 

“But, first, how about some pizza puffs?” He held up some more pizza puffs from his pockets. 

“Stop eating the poison!” Mizuki shouted at them in Japanese as Raph took a step back from seeing her anger. 

Meats Sweats took out newly baked muffins with the poison laced on them from the oven and placed them on the counter. 

“Okay, Meaty Sweetie.” 

He turned around upon hearing the voice and spotted Leo and Donnie standing there with their arms folded and Mikey on the ground

“Hand over the antidote,” Leo demanded. 

“Preferably inside some of those exquisite pizza puffs,” Donnie added. 

“You look a right mess!” Meats Sweats smirked. “Serves you and your friend right for monkeying with me plan to ruin me rivals’ restaurants.” 

He picked up his mallet, still smirking darkly. “What say we even the score?” 

Leo charged at him first, but due to the sweat that fell to the floor, he slipped accidentally and soared towards the pig mutant. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!” 

Meats Sweats hit him with the mallet, sending him straight through the ceiling. 

“Gastroenteritis!” Donnie shouted, charging at the villain. 

However, Meats Sweats opened up the trash can and shot discarded fish at him. Two of them landed on his Smell-U-Lator while his stomach caught one. The hits sent him flying towards the wall. 

“Why did it have to be scrod?” He groaned before Leo fell back on him. 

Meats Sweats looked to the side and noticed Mikey trying to crawl away. The younger turtle turned towards him and laughed nervously. 

Loud screaming from the three turtles rang from Raph’s phone as Raph and Mizuki cringed from their cries. 

“I gotta get in there,” Raph said. 

“No. They’ll never learn if you always help them, Raph,” his other side told him. 

“But I can’t just sit here.” 

“This is for their own good,” his other side in the form of his fist stated. 

Raph growled and started fighting…with himself. 

Mizuki stared at him confused and annoyed. “We’ll discuss this later.” 

She unfurled her fans and ran out of the Tank. 

The three brothers laid on the floor defeated as Meats Sweats stalked towards them. 

“I’d have you for dinner, but you look like three lumps of spoiled meat,” he grinned evilly. 

“I knew we’d never be able to do this without Raph and Mizuki,” Mikey said. 

“Believe in yourselves,” Donnie’s stomach told them. 

“Guys, Tummytello’s right,” Donnie sat back up. “Leo, give me the rest of our pizza puffs.” 

“Well, I don’t have any more,” Leo claimed. 

Donnie picked up a bag of the pizza puffs and stared at him unamused. 

“Aww, man, those really are the last ones,” Leo blushed embarrassed. 

Donnie placed the bag on Mikey’s mouth and pulled his head back by his bandana tail. “Hot soup!” 

When he released it, Mikey let the bag loose from his mouth, aiming it towards Meats Sweats, who accidentally ate the pizza puffs. 

The three turtles stared at him wide-eyed. 

Meats Sweats munched on them before swallowing them. “Oh, my. Those are delicious.” 

His finger grew a bit before little heads of himself started appearing. 

“Oh, no! What’s happening to this little piggy?” 

More miniature heads began popping up all over his body as he grew due to eating the poison by accident. 

Leo, Donnie, and Mikey continued to stare at the uncomfortable transformation shocked. 

“Guys, I’m here—“ Mizuki barged in through the door, only to stop in her tracks when she saw the pig mutant transform horrifically. “What the what?!” 

Meats Sweats opened one of the cabinet doors with his arm and took out a vial. 

“That must be the antidote,” Mikey gasped. 

“Leo, save us with my jelly bones,” he lent his arm to Leo. 

“And vial snag!” Leo used Mikey’s neck to lasso him towards the vial. 

Mikey grabbed the antidote from Meats Sweats and drank it when he stretched back to the two. Once he was back to normal, Leo took the antidote and drank some of it, setting his body back to its original state. 

“It’s been my honor serving with you, Tummytello,” Donnie said to his alive stomach as he held the antidote. 

“I’ll always be with you,” his stomach said. 

Donnie drank the antidote, and like his two brothers, he was back to his original self. 

“Wait, let’s talk this over,” Meats Sweats chuckled nervously. “Just a little sip, hey, my chummy-wubbies?” 

“Ah, a moral quandary,” Donnie smirked. “Do we give the antidote to the villain, or…” 

He was not able to finish his question, for Leo took the antidote from him, ate one last pizza puff, and drank the antidote, setting him back to normal again. 

“Poison, antidote,” Leo remarked. “Everything he makes is delicious.” 

He tossed the vial over his shoulder, sending it flying outside. 

Meats Sweats screamed terrified and started for it. 

“Watch out!” Donnie cried, grabbing a still shocked Mizuki, and pulled her with him and the others, just as the pig mutant passed them in a flash. 

The four teens stared at Meats Sweats, who is now struggling to get through the door, deadpanned. 

*****

Raph sat outside the Tank with a black eye and some bruises on him. When he looked up, he was relieved and proud to see Leo, Donnie, and Mikey back to their normal states. Mizuki was also standing them smiling with pride. 

“I knew you guys could do it,” Raph beamed at them. 

“No, you didn’t! I did!” His other side claimed. 

“Oh, you want to go?” Raph challenged. 

“Bring it!” 

Raph started fighting with himself again. The three turtles and Mizuki watched him perplexed and unamused. 

“Eh, Raph’ll take care of it,” Leo said. 

Meats Sweats grunted until he was finally able to fit himself through the door and picked up the vial. Drinking the last bit of the antidote, he was changed back to normal. 

“Oh, that’s much better,” he sighed with relief. 

He tossed the vial over his shoulder. 

However, the relief was gone when something crawled from underneath the door, destroying the vial in the process. 

Meats Sweats heard its eerie snarling and screamed before it instantly took him and disappeared.


End file.
